Evaluation of MBCT for Adolescents with ADHD and Their Parents: Impact on Individual and Family Functioning

Adolescents with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often experience emotional and behavioural difficulties which contribute to stress and conflict in their family relationships. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a promising intervention for these families. We evaluated the efficacy of an adaptation of a MBCT intervention for 13-18 year olds with ADHD and their parents. Adolescents (n = 18) and parents (n = 17) attended 8 weekly parallel group sessions. Participants completed questionnaires at four time points: 4 weeks before the intervention to control for general time effects, on the first and last days of the intervention, and 6 weeks after the intervention. Participants reported on adolescent ADHD symptoms, internalizing and externalizing problems, functional impairment, family functioning, parenting stress, and mindfulness. There were no significant changes on parent rated variables during the baseline period. Results of repeated measures ANOVA revealed reductions in the adolescents' inattention, conduct problems, and peer relations problems after the intervention, according to parental report. Parents also reported reductions in parenting stress and increases in mindful parenting. Adolescents did not report improvements on any variables during the intervention period. Paired t-tests indicated that improvements in adolescent symptomatology and mindful parenting were maintained 6 weeks after the intervention ended. Parents reported additional reductions in parenting stress at follow-up. Adolescents reported reductions in internalizing problems at follow-up. Overall, our results support and extend the preliminary findings of previous investigations of MBCT showing it to be a promising treatment for adolescents with ADHD and their parents.