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Nonpharmacological Treatments for ADHD: A Meta-Analytic Review
Journal of Attention Disorders, 05/31/2012
Evidence Based Medicine
Clinical Article
Hodgson K et al. – Based on the small, published literature, this study supports some nonpharmacological interventions for ADHD, and indicates directions for more evaluation research into psychological treatments.
Methods- A total of 14 controlled treatment studies conducted post-1994—evaluating behavior modification, neurofeedback therapy, multimodal psychosocial treatment, school-based programs, working memory training, parent training, and self-monitoring—were identified, primarily by searching electronic English-language databases.
- The results were meta-analyzed: mean-weighted effect sizes for the treatment outcomes of 625 participants (382 treatment, 243 controls) were calculated, and moderator analyses examined contributions of gender, ADHD subtype, and treatment “dosage” to outcome.
- Behavior modification and neurofeedback treatments were most supported by this evidence.
- Interventions were generally more efficacious for girls, and least efficacious for the “combined” ADHD subtype.
- The authors found no dose or age effects.