Feasibility and Acceptability of an Internet-Based Intervention for Young Adults with ADHD

Abstract

Internet-based interventions (IBIs) to treat psychological disorders are available, but accessibility to these to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in young adult populations is quite limited. The current study examined the feasibility of a proposed IBI for ADHD and participant perceptions regarding treatment acceptability and credibility , and outcome expectancy. Participants ( N = 235; aged 18–35) with a prior ADHD diagnosis were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and were provided with a proposed IBI and explanatory outlines of treatment module content. Participants in the cross-sectional study were randomly assigned to either a tailored (i.e., targeted content modules), minimal (i.e., presented overall fewer and non-targeted modules), or full (i.e., all possible modules) condition. Results demonstrated moderate IBI acceptability among participants in the tailored and full conditions. The majority of participants preferred IBI over face-to-face (F2F) treatment, and most individuals who preferred F2F treatment also considered an IBI to be an acceptable treatment modality. Lack of significant mean differences between the tailored and full conditions on several of the main outcomes of interest (e.g., perceptions of acceptability) suggests that implementation of either method of treatment could prove effective. Differences based on treatment length and relevance, and biological sex were also explored. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41347-022-00256-4.

A study protocol of a randomized controlled study of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

“…Overall, this type of research indicate that such means of delivery are accepted and perceived as user-friendly ( Knouse et al, 2022 ), but that issues of content and engagement are important to consider ( Kenter et al, 2022 ; Nordby et al, 2021 ). A recent study that explored the feasibility of a proposed online intervention for ADHD-symptoms also demonstrated a high acceptability towards this type of aid, and that 59 % of the participants actually preferred online to face-to-face interventions ( Shelton et al, 2022 ). With additional studies investigating online interventions for ADHD-symptoms under way ( Kenter et al, 2021 ), the interest in developing and disseminating this type of support seem to be growing and could, if found to be effective, help more individuals with ADHD-symptoms deal with everyday life and functioning.…”