Medication adherence in the MTA: saliva methylphenidate samples versus parent report and mediating effect of concomitant behavioral treatment.

Objective: Although research supports the use of appropriately administered stimulant medication to treat children with ADHD, poor adherence and early termination undermine the efficacy of this treatment in real-world settings. Moreover, adherence measures often rely on parent report of medication use, and their validity and reliability are unknown.

Method: Drawing on data from 254 participants in the NIMH Collaborative Multisite Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, we examine the discrepancy between parents' verbal reports of medication adherence and physiological adherence measures determined via methylphenidate saliva assays collected at four time points during the 14-month treatment period.