Efficacy of a self-help parenting intervention for parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adjunct to usual treatment—Small-scale randomized controlled trial

Background: Multimodal intervention incorporating psychosocial intervention and medication is recommended for school-aged children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This randomized controlled trial (RCT) investigates the adjunctive benefit of the self-help version of the New Forest Parenting Programme (NFPP-SH) when offered in addition to treatment as usual (TAU) compared with TAU alone. Method: Fifty-two children, receiving medication for ADHD as part of their usual care, were randomized to receive NFPP-SH + TAU or TAU alone. Results: When used in adjunct to TAU, NFPP-SH may have beneficial effects for parenting efficacy (F = 6.28, p = 0.02), child social performance in school and negative comments made by parents during a recorded speech sample. However, the self-help intervention did not have any additional effect on child behaviour. Conclusions: This study provides further support for self-help interventions as potentially low-intensity and cost-effective alternatives to therapist-led parenting interventions. The findings require replication in larger samples before any firm conclusions about adjunctive efficacy of NFPP-SH can be drawn but underline the potential for self-help within routine treatment (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02174952).