Introduction
Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are susceptible to drinking alcohol, smoking, or using drugs as compared to those without ADHD. They experiment with substance abuse at tender ages than those kids without it. In addition, they are at higher risk of developing substance use disorder (SUD) (Keilow et al., 2018). The major aspect for parents is to be aware of the connection between these two, take preventive measures at home, and search for professional assistance if the drug issue is suspected. The knowledge of a parent about ADHD views about treatment and ADHD-associated stigma are major aspects to target to improve uptake and persistent utilization of evidence-based pharmacological interventions for kids with ADHD (Boudreau & Mah, 2020). The paper examines a quantitative research article associated with children with ADHD and substance abuse who are treated with medication. The paper presents an overview of the article and makes a conclusion based on its analysis.
Overview of Article
The Rationale
The study was conducted to examine how well parental social cognitions mediated by the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) lead to the consumption and continuation of stimulant medication for kids with ADHD. The research seeks to resolve and examine this gap of little attention given to the parental social cognitions’ role in creating the decision to treat their children with ADHD.
The Sample Size
The sample size used in this study was 69 parents of kids aged 6 to 13 years old presenting to a tertiary ADHD clinic who filled out the questionnaires and their medication utilization. This study employed a simple random sampling technique to select the participants.
The Instruments of the Major Variables
“The independent variables in this study are the treatments comprising parent knowledge concerning ADHD, ADHD-associated stigma, and parent attitudes toward medication of ADHD, which were directly varied between the groups of children” (Boudreau & Mah, 2020). The dependent variables applied were the initiation of parents and continuation of ADHD medication, managing for medicine status at baseline.
The Data Analysis
The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was applied to determine if the purpose of the study was attained. Descriptive statistics were examined, and then correlations between all variables were included in the logistic regression model to establish if the variables were interrelated.
Untoward Events During the Study
There was no untoward event during this study because no person left the study.
The Results Fitting with Previous Research in the Area
The researchers did not base their work on a thorough literature review because they sought to resolve key gaps in the literature. This was based on the fact that no earlier study had examined the model in forecasting medication use in a clinical sample.
The Research Meaning for Clinical Practice
The research implies that for clinical practice, parents’ views about treatment, knowledge concerning ADHD, and ADHD-associated stigma are major aspects to target to enhance uptake and persistent use of evidence-based pharmacological interventions for kids with ADHD.
The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Study
The strengths of this study were the use of both parent and clinical reports and the collection of data based on a larger clinical database. The weaknesses in it comprised the inclusion of children with co-morbid psychiatric disorders and the combination of the initiation and continuation of medication for the current study.
Conclusion
In this study, parental resolution concerning ADHD treatment is a significant but under-studied field. The study has presented an understanding of cognitive aspects that can influence the decision of parents to continue or initiate one of the most efficient and effective treatments for children with ADHD. It is concluded that improved efficiency of medical treatment of kids with ADHD may eradicate the substantial for them.
References
Boudreau, A., & Mah, J. W. (2020). Predicting Use of Medications for Children with ADHD: The contribution of parent social cognitions. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29(1), 26–32. Web.
Keilow, M., Holm, A., & Fallesen, P. (2018). Medical treatment of attention deficit/Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and children’s academic performance. PLOS ONE, 13(11), e0207905. Web.