Skills Training for Adolescents With ADHD

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Interventions: Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Registration Number: NCT01019252

Lead Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital

Brief Summary: The proposed study will be an initial test of a cognitive-behavioral intervention for adolescents with ADHD who are receiving medication treatment. It is based on our successful work with adults with ADHD who have been treated with medicines but are still having symptoms. It involves learning skills for organization and planning, attention, and mood.

Detailed Description: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent, distressing, and interfering condition that affects between 2% and 6% of adolescents. Although medications have been widely used as an effective treatment for many years as the sole treatment for ADHD, for many, clinically significant and interfering continued symptoms remain. Even after medication treatment, adolescents still experience residual ADHD symptoms and continue to have problems with inattention, concentration, disorganization, and other symptoms. However, research suggests that adolescents who have received some benefit from medication treatment can then experience further symptom reduction from participation in skills-based cognitive behavioral therapy. This study, adapted from a similar research study for adults with ADHD, will examine whether cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) plus medication is more effective at treating ADHD than medication therapy alone in adolescents with ADHD.

Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to receive twelve weekly treatment sessions either immediately upon enrolling in the study or after a four-month waiting period. Questionnaires (that participants complete and ones that are done with an interviewer) will be used to assess participants' ADHD symptoms at study entry, after receiving the treatment, and at 4 month follow-up. Parents will have some involvement in therapy.

Note: participants must be able to come to Boston or another study location in the Greater Boston area for 4 assessment visits and 12 weekly therapy visits in order for participation to be feasible.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 66

Inclusion Criteria

Between the ages of 14 and 18
In high school
Principal Diagnosis of ADHD
Stable prescription of Medications for ADHD
ADHD has childhood onset
Clinically significant ADHD symptoms

Exclusion Criteria

Organic Mental Disorders
Active Substance Abuse or Dependence
Diagnosis of Conduct Disorder
Mental Retardation or Pervasive Developmental Disorder
Active Suicidality
Previous History of CBT Therapy in adolescence
Other condition interfering with consent or participation

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: CROSSOVER

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
CBT for ADHD first, then follow-up	Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)	Participants received Cognitive Behavioral Therapy following randomization.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Changes in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Symptoms - Adolescent Report	before randomization, 4-months, 8-months	-Independent blinded evaluator rated adolescent report of symptom severity (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Rating Scale-IV). The independent evaluator administered the ADHD rating scale-IV to adolescent participants. This scale, updated for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Ed. (DSM-IV), assesses each of 18 individual symptoms of ADHD using an identical four-point severity grid (0 = not present up to 3 = severe; minimum total score = 0, maximum total score =54, with higher scores indicating greater symptomatology). The CBT for ADHD change score was calculated by combining the data for all participants who received CBT for ADHD (both those who received it between baseline and the 4-month assessment and those who received it between the 4-month and the 8-month assessment). The wait list control score represents only those participants who were in the wait list condition between the baseline and the 4-month assessment points.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Symptom Severity - Clinician Rating	before randomization, 4-months, 8-months	-Independent, blinded evaluator rating of ADHD symptom severity (Clinical Global Impressions - severity scale). The Clinical Global Impression (CGI) Scale is a widely used rating scale to measure overall severity related to ADHD symptoms. The Global Severity rating ranges from; 1=not ill, to 7= extremely ill, with higher scores indicating greater severity.The CBT for ADHD change score was calculated by combining the data for all participants who received CBT for ADHD (both those who received it between baseline and the 4-month assessment and those who received it between the 4-month and the 8-month assessment). The wait list control score represents only those participants who were in the wait list condition between the baseline and the 4-month assessment points.
Changes in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Symptoms - Parent Report	baseline, 4-months, and 8-months	-Independent blinded evaluator rated parent report of symptom severity (ADHD Rating Scale-IV) to the parent of the adolescent participant. This scale, updated for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV), assesses each of 18 individual symptoms of ADHD using an identical four-point severity grid (0 = not present up to 3 = severe; minimum total score = 0, maximum total score =54, with higher scores indicating greater symptomatology). The CBT for ADHD change score was calculated by combining the data for all participants who received CBT for ADHD (both those who received it between baseline and the 4-month assessment and those who received it between the 4-month and the 8-month assessment). The wait list control score represents only those participants who were in the wait list condition between the baseline and the 4-month assessment points.