Parental Angst Making and Revisiting Decisions About Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

In “Parental Angst Making and Revisiting Decisions About Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder” researchers sought to identify factors that could affect parents’ decisions regarding the initiation and continuation of ADHD treatment for their children. Parents of children who were diagnosed with ADHD between the ages of 6 and 17 and had been seen for ADHD in the past two years at one of the 10 participating community practices were eligible. A total of 52 parents participated in one of 12 focus group discussions which were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. Discussion centered on 3 major themes:

• The stressful context in which parents initially decided whether or not to seek treatment
• Factors that influenced parents’ decisions to initiate medication
• Doubt and uncertainty about continued medication use 

Striking a balance between benefits and concerns was described by parents as an ongoing process that was often informed by contrasting time on and off medication. Based on these discussions, researchers came to the conclusion that development of strategies to support families across the continuum of decisions faced while managing ADHD is warranted.

Publication Information

Brinkman WB, Sherman SN, Zmitrovich AR, et al. Parental Angst Making and Revisiting Decisions About Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Pediatrics. 2009 Aug;124(2):580-9.