Psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy treatment outcome research in pediatric populations

Reviewed treatment interventions for pediatric populations involving the co mbination of pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy or either treatment employed alone. The literature revealed a dearth of psychotherapy and pharmacotherap y outcome studies, with the exception of investigations of children diagnos ed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Issues pertaining to design, including sample selection, treatment integrity and comparabilit y, and placebo controls also are reviewed. A potpourri of other issues are noted including parental attitudes toward the use of medication versus psyc hotherapy, treatment adherence, and patient/provider relationship. For chil dren diagnosed with ADHD, the use of stimulant medication appears to be sup erior to psychotherapy employed alone in managing the behavior of these chi ldren as well as their classroom functioning. Recommendations are made for multimodal trials that examine the combined and individual use of pharmacot herapies and psychotherapies for various developmental and psychiatric diso rders that occur in childhood and adolescence. Future studies also need to address the durable effects of these treatment options.