Behavior modification by parents in children with attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) attending Child Psychiatric Unit at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital and Nakhon Ratchasima Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital.

Abstract

Background : Thailand has many medical treatments of behavior modification in children with ADHD but there is still no research on behavior modification in ADHD children by their guardians. With these reasons the researcher has taken interest to study whether or not the guardian has roles in behavior modification in a child with ADHD or not since parents and guardians play important roles in preventing ADHD from developing into bad behaviors.

Objective : To study of behavior modification and factors related to behavior modification by parent in ADHD children which in this research behavior modification of the guardian means the guardian’s actions that act against the ADHD in order to produce effect on improvement of ADHD’s undesirable behavior.

Research Design : Cross – sectional descriptive design.

Materials and Methods : The subjects 211 parents of ADHD children who were attending their children at the Psychiatric Unit of King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital and Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital during September to November, 2010 were requested to 4 questionnaires that cover. The general data, SNAP-IV short form in Thai for evaluation of behavior modification by parent in ADHD and source of ADHD information.

Results : The most prevalent behavior modification by parents of children with ADHD was of high level (74.9%), factors which were related to behavior modification by parent in ADHD children such as mother in ADHD, time to take care of child in ADHD on weekdays, time to take care of child in ADHD on weekends, guardian received information from psychologist, books, journals, and brochures (P <0.01), medication compliance, the severity of the child with ADHD, female guardian, guardian received information from ADHD’s guardian club and the internet (P <0.05). In order to predict the factors of behavior modification in parents of children with ADHD such as guardians who received information from psychologists is the most common, time to take care of child in ADHD on weekends, medication compliance, ect..

Conclusions : Behavior modification by parents of children with ADHD who were attending their children at the Psychiatric Unit of King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital and Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital, was of high level. Factors that related to behavior modification and prediction of behavior modification of the parents were such as being the mother of a child with ADHD, the severity of child with ADHD, guardian received information from psychologists, books, journals, and brochures, time to take care of children with ADHD during weekends and medication compliance were most common.