Feasibility of School-Based ADHD Interventions: A Mixed-Methods Study of Perceptions of Adolescents and Adults.
OBJECTIVE
Little is known about perceptions surrounding academic interventions for ADHD that determine intervention feasibility.


METHODS
As part of a longitudinal mixed-methods research project, representative school district samples of 148 adolescents (54.8%), 161 parents (59.4%), 122 teachers (50.0%), 46 health care providers (53.5%), and 92 school health professionals (65.7%) completed a cross-sectional survey. They also answered open-ended questions addressing undesirable intervention effects, which were analyzed using grounded theory methods.


RESULTS
Adolescents expressed significantly lower receptivity toward academic interventions than adult respondents. Stigma emerged as a significant threat to ADHD intervention feasibility, as did perceptions that individualized interventions foster inequality.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest that adolescents' viewpoints must be included in intervention development to enhance feasibility and avoid interventions acceptable to adults, but resisted by adolescents.
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA rbussing@ufl.edu.
Regina
R
Bussing
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Mirka
M
Koro-Ljungberg
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Joseph Calvin
JC
Gagnon
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Dana M
DM
Mason
University of South Carolina, Aiken, SC, USA.
Anne
A
Ellison
University of South Mississippi, Long Beach, MS, USA.
Kenji
K
Noguchi
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Cynthia W
CW
Garvan
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Dolores
D
Albarracin
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010465:Perception; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012574:Schools; D057545:Social Stigma; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
academic; adolescent ADHD; parent–teacher agreement; stigma; treatment acceptability