Parents as Friendship Coaches for Children With ADHD

Parents as Friendship Coaches for Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Many children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have problems with making and keeping friends. The current study compared the efficacy of two 10-week behavioral interventions for improving the friendships of children with this disorder. Participants were children ages 6-11 with ADHD and their families, who were experiencing friendship problems. Outcome measures assessed friendship quality and friendship behaviors at baseline (pre-treatment), post-treatment, and 8-month follow-up.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: ADHD
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Parental Friendship Coaching; Behavioral: Coping with ADHD through Relationships and Education

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 172
• Phase: Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 6 years to 11 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Children who meet diagnostic criteria for ADHD
• Children who are have peer relationship problems

Exclusion Criteria:

• Children with autism spectrum disorder, psychosis, or active suicidality (requires other interventions
• Children with intellectual disability (may not benefit from the interventions offered)
• Children who are not on a stable dose of medication (this treatment may affect outcome measures)
• Children who are receiving other behavioral treatment or treatment for social problems (these other treatments may affect outcome measures).

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Parental Friendship Coaching (PFC)	Behavioral: Parental Friendship Coaching; In this condition, therapists instructed parents in ways to coach their children to display better friendship behaviors using skills teaching, role play, active practice, and homework. This is a 10 week group intervention.
Active Comparator: Coping with ADHD through Relationships and Education (CARE)	Behavioral: Coping with ADHD through Relationships and Education; In this condition, the therapist provided parents with psychoeducation about ADHD and friendship difficulties, and encouraged them to apply this information to their child and to support one another with tips about how to address these problems. This is a 10 week group intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Positive and Negative Friendship Quality - Questionnaires	Measures of positive and negative relationship quality with a friend, as reported by informants (adults, children) on the Friendship Quality Questionnaire	change from baseline (pre-treatment) to post-treatment (approximately 4 months after baseline)
Change in Positive and Negative Friendship Quality - Questionnaires	Measures of positive and negative relationship quality with a friend, as reported by informants (adults, children) on the Friendship Quality Questionnaire	change from baseline (pre-treatment) to follow-up (approximately 12 months after baseline, and 4 months after post-treatment)
Change in Positive and Negative Friendship Quality - Observations	Measures of positive and negative relationship quality with a friend, as observed in a lab-based interaction	change from baseline (pre-treatment) to post-treatment (approximately 4 months after baseline)
Change in Positive and Negative Friendship Quality - Observations	Measures of positive and negative relationship quality with a friend, as observed in a lab-based interaction	change from baseline (pre-treatment) to follow-up (approximately 12 months after baseline, and 4 months after post-treatment)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Positive and Negative Friendship Behaviors- Questionnaires	Measures of positive and negative behaviors with a friend, as reported by parents on the Quality of Play Questionnaire	change from baseline (pre-treatment) to post-treatment (approximately 4 months after baseline)
Change in Positive and Negative Friendship Behaviors- Questionnaires	Measures of positive and negative behaviors with a friend, as reported by parents on the Quality of Play Questionnaire	change from baseline (pre-treatment) to follow-up (approximately 12 months after baseline, and 4 months after post-treatment)
Change in Positive and Negative Friendship Behaviors- Questionnaires	Measures of positive and negative behaviors with a friend, as reported by parents and teachers on the Social Skills Informant System	change from baseline (pre-treatment) to post-treatment (approximately 4 months after baseline)
Change in Positive and Negative Friendship Behaviors- Questionnaires	Measures of positive and negative behaviors with a friend, as reported by parents and teachers on the Social Skills Informant System	change from baseline (pre-treatment) to follow-up (approximately 12 months after baseline, and 4 months after post-treatment)
Change in Positive and Negative Friendship Behaviors- Observations	Measures of positive and negative behaviors with a friend, as observed in a lab-based interaction	change from baseline (pre-treatment) to post-treatment (approximately 4 months after baseline)
Change in Positive and Negative Friendship Behaviors- Observations	Measures of positive and negative behaviors with a friend, as observed in a lab-based interaction	change from baseline (pre-treatment) to follow-up (approximately 12 months after baseline, and 4 months after post-treatment)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of British Columbia
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Amori Mikami, PhD, University of British Columbia; Principal Investigator: Sebastien Normand, PhD, Universite du Quebec en Outaouais

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): July 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 6, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 10, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): September 12, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 12, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 10, 2019
• Last Verified: September 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: friendship
• Other Study ID Numbers: 285413

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No