Introduction: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder in childhood with a global prevalence on 7.2 % among children and youth under 18 years. ADHD is characterized by high levels of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity present in two or more settings to a degree that disturbs the child’s social or academic function. Parent training is focused on strengthening the parent-child relation and interaction with behavioral techniques to manage and respond to inappropriate behavior exhibited by the child. To accommodate the request for a study of non-pharmalogical treatment effects on the child’s level of functioning, this study sought to examine the effects of parent training interventions on measures of quality of life in children diagnosed with ADHD.
Method: A systematic review of nine studies retrieved from the online databases Cinahl, Embase, PubMed and PsycInfo examined the effects of parent training inter-ventions on quality of life in treatment of children and youth under the age of 18 with a primary diagnosis of ADHD. Eligibility criteria included peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials that were published from 2017 to 2020 to include studies since the latest research from Nationale Kliniske Retningslinjer on the area, that comprises studies from 2013 to 2017.
Results: All of the nine included studies use behavioral therapy in the parent training programs that share common features and show deviations from each other. The studies’ assessments of the children’s quality of life are either categorized as a direct measurement of quality of life or as an indirect measurement of quality of life on the basis of the child’s general function or symptoms of ADHD. Based on parent reports, the systematic review found that parent training interventions are effective in improving the quality of life of children diagnosed with ADHD, even though this effect does not necessarily exceed the one seen after treatment as usual.
Conclusion: Parent training in treatment of children with ADHD is effective in terms of improving quality of life in children by reducing symptoms of ADHD or im-proving the general function of the child. Furthermore, it can be concluded that parent training interventions is as effective as treatment as usual without showing additional effects on direct measures of quality of life and indirect measures regarding the general function. However, the second indirect measure of quality of life with regard to reduced symptoms of ADHD yields a potential effect for some children that exceeds the one shown by treatment as usual. To make the results more comparable, future studies should increase the use of direct assessment tools of quality of life as well as self-reports from the children. Furthermore, longer follow-up periods are needed in future studies to allow an investigation of the long-term effects, which can be considered as a potential benefit of parent training.
Limitations: A significant limitation of the current review is the fact that study selection and data extraction has been undertaken by one investigator only which carries a certain risk of bias.