An Intensive Summer Treatment Program for ADHD Reduces Parent-Adolescent Conflict

There are currently almost no treatment efforts to reduce parent-adolescent conflict in adolescents with ADHD. As such, this study investigated the effect of an intensive Summer Treatment Program for Adolescents with ADHD (STP-A) on parent-adolescent conflict. Twenty adolescents and their parents completed the 8 week behavioral treatment program, which included 320 hours of adolescent-directed treatment, 15 hours of parent behavior management training, and daily feedback from staff on parent implementation of a home-based behavioral contract. Results indicated that 70-85 % of adolescents who attended the STP-A demonstrated reliable improvement in parent-adolescent conflict from baseline to post-treatment. Treatment response was associated with higher levels of conflict at baseline, but not adolescent ODD severity or parent ADHD severity. Several patterns of treatment non-response were detected through visual examination of weekly conflict scores during the STP-A. Discussion suggests that intensive, parent-involved treatment programs may be necessary to improve home-conflict in adolescents with ADHD.