Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate and compare the treatment effect of pharmacotherapy with methylphenidate and behavioral parent training. 30 elementary school boys with attention difficulties were recruited with the cooperation of their school teachers to participate in 6-week pharmacotherapy or 8-week behavioral parent training program. Each of the 30 boys (15 for each of the two treatment groups) who met the selection criteria for the study was assessed prior to and following the respective treatment using parent and teacher rating scales for behavioral symptoms, Continuous Performance Test (CPT) for their attention ability. The results indicated that both pharmacotherapy and behavioral parent training were effective in reducing behavioral symptoms of hyperactivity and teacher rated academic performance, but only pharmacotherapy was effective in improving CPT measured attention. The role of pharmacotherapy and clinical utility of behavioral parent training were discussed and it was suggested that the two treatments be used together as part of multimodal intervention program to optimize therapeutic impact.