Reduction of Attention Deficit and Internalizing Symptoms in Preschoolers through Parent-Child Interaction Training

A Pilot Study of Atomoxetine in Young Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

“…The parent education provided, while based on an evidence-based psychosocial treatment (McMahon and Forehand 2003), was very abbreviated and limited to eight 10-to 15-minute sessions (maximum of 2 hours). Parent training interventions demonstrating efficacy in this age group are much more intensive, averaging 8-12 hours duration, typically with significant behavioral rehearsal, modeling, and feedback components that the present intervention did not include (Pisterman et al 1989;Strayhorn and Weidman 1989;Sonuga-Barke et al 2001;Bor et al 2002). Thus, although anecdotally many parents seemed to find the weekly discussions about behavior management strategies useful, it seems unlikely that this intervention alone provided significant direct benefits in reducing core ADHD symptoms.…”

Psychopharmacological and Other Treatments in Preschool Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Current Evidence and Practice

“…However, there was a wide variation in the study design, type of control groups, inclusion criteria, diagnostic measures, type of psychosocial intervention, method of intervention delivery, and outcome measures employed in the studies. Nine studies used a randomized parallel groups design with control groups ranging from wait-list, community treatment, combination treatment to minimal treatment Bor et al 2002;Corrin 2004;Jones et al 2007;McGoey et al 2005;Pisterman et al 1992;SonugaBarke et al 2001;Strayhorn and Weidman 1989;Strayhorn and Weidman 1991) and six studies did not employ any control group (Chang et al 2004;Danforth 1999;Drash et al 1976;Erhardt and Baker 1990;Henry 1987;Huang et al 2003). Eight of the nine controlled studies included only preschool children and four of these eight studies selected the preschoolers based on a DSM diagnosis of ADHD through clinical or structured parent interview (Bor et al 2002;Pisterman et al 1992;Sonuga-Barke et al 2001), and the other four selected preschoolers based on a rating scale cutoff.…”

“…Improvements in ADHD symptoms were reported in three of the eight controlled studies that included only preschool children (Jones et al 2007;Sonuga-Barke et al 2001;Strayhorn and Weidman 1989) and only one of these studies (Sonuga- Barke et al 2001) was in preschoolers formally diagnosed with ADHD. Preschoolers diagnosed with ADHD (N ϭ 78) were randomized to 8 weeks of parent training, parent counseling and support, or a wait-list group (Sonuga-Barke et al 2001).…”

Beyond the ‘typical’ patient: Treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in preschoolers and adults

“…Home-based parent training was demonstrated to be effective for reducing ADHD symptoms in preschool children (Sonuga-Barke, Daley, Thompson, Laver-Braudbury, & Weeks, 2001). Parent-child interaction training was also shown to reduce ADHD and internalizing symptoms (Strayhorn & Weidman, 1989). Of the 261 subjects who completed parent training in PATS, only 7.2% had significant improvement , however, the severity of ADHD in these preschoolers may have contributed to their being less responsive to a psychosocial intervention alone.…”