Potential Mechanisms of Action in the Treatment of Social Impairment and Disorganization in Adolescents with ADHD

School Ment Health. 2011 Sep;3(3):156-168. doi: 10.1007/s12310-011-9058-5.

Abstract

Two important domains that can be impaired in adolescents with ADHD are organization and social functioning; however, the development of interventions to target these areas in adolescents is in the early stages. Currently, small efficacy trials are beginning to be used to conduct preliminary tests on the proposed mechanisms of action for these interventions. These two studies examined the efficacy of organization and social functioning interventions for adolescents with ADHD, as well as the potential mechanisms of action for each intervention. Results from the organization intervention provide support for a significant relationship between performance on the organization checklist and overall GPA; however, there was no meaningful pattern of relationships between achieving mastery of the organization tasks and grades within quarter. Further, results from the social functioning intervention support a moderate relationship between performance on process measures of response to the intervention and outcome measures of social functioning. Results of this study provide implications for modifications to the measures and intervention procedures in future research.

Keywords: ADHD; Adolescents; Mechanism of action; Organization; Social functioning.