Behavioral versus behavioral and pharmacological treatment in ADHD children attending a summer treatment program

As part of the behavioral treatment in the Multimodal Treatment Study of Ch ildren with ADHD (MTA(9)), children participated in an intensive summer tre atment program (STP). This study examined the differences between 57 childr en in the combined treatment (Comb) group, who were medicated, and 60 child ren in the behavioral treatment (Beh) group, who were unmedicated throughou t the STP. Comb children were significantly better than Beh on 5 measures: rule following, good sportsmanship, peer negative nominations, and STP teac her posttreatment ratings of inattention/overactivity. Groups did not diffe r on any of the other 30 measures, and responded similarly to the STP over time. Comparisons to normative data revealed that Comb children were more l ikely to fall within the normative range on 6 measures. The differences bet ween these results and the main MTA results, in which Comb was always super ior to Beh, are discussed in terms of the relative intensity of combined tr eatments. The implications for future studies of pharmacological and behavi oral treatment for ADHD are discussed.