THE EFFECTS OF SCHOOL-BASED INTERVENTIONS FOR ATTENTION-DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER - A METAANALYSIS

A meta-analysis examining the effects of school-based interventions fo r children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disord er (ADHD) was undertaken with 63 outcome studies conducted during 1971 to 1995. Separate analyses were performed for studies employing betwe en-subjects, within-subjects, and single subject experimental designs. The overall mean effect sizes for dependent measures of behavior were positive and significant across all three experimental designs (betwe en-Subjects =.45, Within-Subjects =.64, Single-Subject = 1.16). Small, positive effects on academic performance were found for Within-Subjec ts Design (.31) and Single-Subject Design (.82) studies. Contingency m anagement strategies and academic interventions were found to be more effective for behavior change than were cognitive-behavioral strategie s for both Within-Subjects and Single-Subject Design studies. Implicat ions for future outcome studies and meta-analyses as well as for the s chool-based management of students with ADHD are discussed.