Which Child Will Benefit From a Behavioral Intervention for ADHD? A Pilot Study to Predict Intervention Efficacy From Individual Reward Sensitivity.

This article aims to assess whether individual differences in reward sensitivity can be used to predict which children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will benefit most from behavioral interventions that include reinforcement. A 12-week behavioral intervention was offered to 21 children with ADHD and their parents. Reward sensitivity was assessed prior to the intervention using a combination of psychological and physiological measures.

The effectiveness of an experimental treatment when compared to care as usual depends on the type of care as usual.

In psychotherapy, effectiveness of an experimental treatment often is compared to care as usual. However, little if any attention has been paid to the heterogeneity of care as usual. The authors examined the effectiveness of manualized behavior therapy on school-aged disruptive behavior disordered (DBD) children in everyday clinical practice.

Preventive effects of treatment of disruptive behavior disorder in middle childhood on substance use and delinquent behavior.

Objective: Disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) is a well-known risk factor for substance abuse and delinquent behavior in adolescence. Therefore, the long-term preventive effects of treatment of DBD in middle childhood on beginning substance use and delinquency in early adolescence were investigated.

Method: Children with DBD (8-13 years old) had been randomly assigned to manualized behavior therapy (Utrecht Coping Power Program; UCPP) or to care as usual (CU) in the Netherlands.

Cortisol and treatment effect in children with disruptive behavior disorders: a preliminary study.

Objective: Basal cortisol and cortisol stress responsivity are valuable biological characteristics of children with disruptive behavior disorder (DBD). In this study, the predictive value of cortisol to outcome of intervention was investigated.

Method: Basal cortisol levels and cortisol levels under stress were studied in 22 children with DBD before the start of a psychotherapeutic treatment.