[The AWMF-Guidelines for Hyperkinetic Disorders in therapeutic practice- knowledge, familiarity, utilization, and attitude of psychotherapists and physicians].

Objective: The AWMF-Guidelines for Hyperkinetic Disorders (ADHD) provide psychotherapists and physicians with guidance concerning diagnostics and treatment for one of the most common disorders in children and adolescents. To date, however, it is unclear how these guidelines are being applied by practicing therapists (both physicians and psychotherapists) and what they consider to be its pros and cons. This study proposes (1) to analyze the differences between the estimation of ADHD-guidelines by users and nonusers, their corresponding attitudes, experiences, and evaluations of context factors; and (2) to analyze whether users and nonusers differ in their therapeutic practice.

Methods: 71 therapists participated in a nonrepresentative online survey.

Results: The hypothesis was confirmed that, on average, users had a more positive attitude toward and experience with guideline-driven treatment than did nonusers. The results also show a small positive effect of guideline use on treatment quality. However, the methods employed by users and nonusers only moderately corresponded with the recommendations of the guidelines.

Conclusions: It was shown that the ADHD guideline is only rarely being used, even under advantageous conditions, and that a practice-oriented form of the guideline does not exist until now.