Kc. Wells, Comprehensive versus matched psychosocial treatment in the MTA study: Conceptual and empirical issues, J CLIN CHIL, 30(1), 2001, pp. 131-135
Addressed some factual inaccuracies and presented alternative positions on
key issues raised in the article by Greene and Ablon (this issue) on the qu
estion, " What does the Multimodal Treatment Study (MTA) tell us about effe
ctive psychosocial treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (
ADHD)?" The Greene and Ablon critique does not present for the reader's con
sideration the full range of findings from the MTA study, notably those mos
t relevant to psychosocial treatment, and articulates a theoretical positio
n that effective treatment requires matching treatment to children's assess
ed needs, an approach not taken in the MTA study. In this article, I presen
t the the full range of findings from the MTA study related to psychosocial
treatment effects, correct the misperceptions that exist about the study b
ased on limited reviews such as Greene and Ablon's, and review the empirica
l and experimental design issues that produced the decision by the MTA inve
stigative ream to study the effects of intensive, comprehensive psychosocia
l treatment. I argue that the questions asked by the MTA study about psycho
social treatment were important, relevant, and were addressed well in the M
TA study design.