PARENT-ASSISTED TRANSFER OF CHILDRENS SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING - EFFECTS ON CHILDREN WITH AND WITHOUT ATTENTION-DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER

Objective: Previous research has demonstrated that peer rejection is a significant part of the clinical presentation of many children with a ttention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Outcome studies of tre atment interventions have typically failed to show generalization of t reatment gains to the home and classroom. This has been especially tru e for children who have comorbid oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). The present study was intended to demonstrate generalization of an out patient social skills training program when parents were trained in sk ills relevant to their child's social adjustment. Method: Thirty-five children with ADHD and 14 children without ADHD were given 12 sessions of treatment (treatment group). Outcome was compared with 12 children with ADHD and 12 children without ADHD who were on a waitlist far tre atment (waitlist group). Nineteen children with ODD were in the treatm ent group and five in the waitlist. Stimulant medication was prescribe d for all children with ADHD. Results: Subjects with ADHD showed impro vement comparable with that of subjects without ADHD on all teacher- a nd parent-reported measures of peer adjustment and social skills, exce pt teacher-reported withdrawal. Children with ODD had outcome comparab le with that of children without ODD. Effect sizes ranged from 0.93 to 1.34, indicating that the average treatment group subject was better off than 83.4% of waitlist subjects on outcome measures. Conclusions: The present results suggest that children with ADHD are best helped by a combination of social skills training for themselves, collateral tr aining for their parents, and stimulant medication.