Treatment choices and experiences in attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder: relations to parents' beliefs and attributions

Background Despite their potential to influence treatment decisions, parents’ beliefs and attitudes regarding attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have not been widely studied. This research examined relations between parents’ beliefs and attitudes and their experiences with different tr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Child : care, health & development Vol. 31; no. 6; pp. 669 - 677
Main Authors:	Johnston, C., Seipp, C., Hommersen, P., Hoza, B., Fine, S.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01-11-2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Subjects:	ADHD Adolescent Art Therapy Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - diet therapy Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - drug therapy Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - therapy Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attributions Behavior Problems Behavior Therapy - methods Beliefs Central Nervous System Stimulants - therapeutic use Child Child, Preschool Family Health Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Humans Hyperactivity Information Dissemination - methods Male Medical treatment Parent Role Parent-Child Relations Parents Parents & parenting Parents - psychology treatment Values Vitamins - administration & dosage Canada
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Summary:	Background Despite their potential to influence treatment decisions, parents’ beliefs and attitudes regarding attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have not been widely studied. This research examined relations between parents’ beliefs and attitudes and their experiences with different treatments for their children's ADHD. Methods Canadian parents of 73, 5‐ to 13‐year‐old, boys with ADHD completed questionnaires measuring beliefs about ADHD, attributions for ADHD behaviours, and treatment experiences. Results Parents reported using primarily behaviour management and stimulant medications in treating ADHD. Approximately half of the families also used diet/vitamin therapies. Parents were knowledgeable about ADHD and held generally accurate beliefs. They saw ADHD symptoms as predominantly internal to the child and as relatively enduring and pervasive. Parents’ beliefs were related to their use of different treatments and parents who used less empirically supported treatments were more likely to see ADHD behaviours as internal to the child, enduring and pervasive. Conclusions The findings highlight the importance of assessing parents’ use of alternate treatments for ADHD and the potential role of parents’ beliefs and attributions in shaping treatment choices.
Bibliography:	istex:67A373A407BBDD6F91396D2CE9916B5B5AE787BC ark:/67375/WNG-K6XJSLXR-C ArticleID:CCH555 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-2 ObjectType-Feature-1
ISSN:	0305-1862 1365-2214
DOI:	10.1111/j.1365-2214.2005.00555.x