The Idea of an Essay, Volume 3

Research Writing 189 Parent Beliefs and the Treatment of ADHD Mackenzie Pike Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) affects a large number of children throughout the world. Treatments of this disorder have evolved over time as new medicines are developed and behavior therapies are studied. One component of treatments that is often not discussed is the people who most often initiate and administer treatments: the parents. Three studies aimed to address the role of parent attitudes and how it effects the child’s treatment: “The Use Of Stimulant Medication And Behavioral Interventions For The Treatment Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Survey Of Parents’ Knowledge, Attitudes, And Experiences” by Stroh et al., “A Discrete Choice Conjoint Experiment To Evaluate Parent Preferences For Treatment Of Young, Medication Naive Children With ADHD” by Waschbusch et al., and “Treatment Choices And Experiences In Attention Deficit And Hyperactivity : Relations To Parents’ Beliefs And Attributions” by Johnston et al. Stroh et al., Waschbusch et al., and Johnston et al. agree that parents’ attitudes toward treatment of ADHD plays a role in its effectiveness, though they disagree on which treatment parents prefer and how informed the parents are about ADHD and potential treatments. Though these studies all address very similar topics, the type and purpose of the study varies. Stroh et al. surveyed 146 Wisconsin parents who had children in elementary school (385). This study gathered opinions from parents with and without children who have ADHD. The purpose of this study was to determine how parents felt about various treatments as well as discover how informed they were about this disorder. Stroh et al. also proposed potential action to be taken based on their findings. Waschbusch et al. also conducted a survey. This study surveyed 183 parents of children who had never taken medication (548). Similar to Stroh et al., this survey aimed to compile the treatment preferences. One key difference, however, was the way the participants were chosen. In Stroh et al.,