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Development of a Brief, Behavioral Homework Intervention for Middle School Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

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Abstract

In contrast to the vast literature on treatments for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), there is a relative paucity of research examining the efficacy of psychosocial treatments for adolescents with ADHD. Furthermore, only a handful of ADHD treatment studies employ educational interventions to improve academic functioning, and no study to date has examined a parent training intervention for targeting homework problems in middle school students with ADHD. This is despite a majority of parents of adolescents with ADHD reporting academic issues as their primary concern. In order to address this treatment need and gap in the literature, a behaviorally based, family-school homework intervention program (HIP) was developed. Participants included 11 middle school students diagnosed with ADHD and their mothers. A multiple-baseline (MB) across participants design was used to assess intervention effects. Results from this single-subject design demonstrated improvement in parent-reported homework problems and ADHD symptoms, overall grade point average, and teacher-reported academic productivity. Further, this intervention demonstrated high levels of satisfaction as perceived by parents and moderate levels of satisfaction as perceived by adolescents. Well-controlled, group-design studies should be conducted to further evaluate the efficacy of the HIP for middle school students with ADHD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Veronica L. Raggi, Andrea Chronis-Tuscano, Howard Fishbein & Amber Groomes

  2. NYU Child Study Center, 577 First Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    Veronica L. Raggi

Authors
  1. Veronica L. Raggi
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  2. Andrea Chronis-Tuscano
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  3. Howard Fishbein
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  4. Amber Groomes
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Correspondence to Veronica L. Raggi.

Additional information

This research was supported by an American Psychological Association: Division 53 Dissertation Award and the Milton Dean Havron Social Sciences Award for Academic Excellence.

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Raggi, V.L., Chronis-Tuscano, A., Fishbein, H. et al. Development of a Brief, Behavioral Homework Intervention for Middle School Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. School Mental Health 1, 61–77 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-009-9008-7

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