| Title |
How effective are drug treatments for children with ADHD at improving on-task behaviour and academic achievement in the school classroom? A systematic review and meta-analysis
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, November 2012
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00787-012-0346-x |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Vibhore Prasad, Ellen Brogan, Caroline Mulvaney, Matthew Grainge, Wendy Stanton, Kapil Sayal |
| Abstract |
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has a significant impact on children's classroom behaviour, daily functioning and experience of school life. However, the effects of drug treatment for ADHD on learning and academic achievement are not fully understood. This review was undertaken to describe the effects of methylphenidate, dexamfetamine, mixed amfetamine salts and atomoxetine on children's on-task behaviour and their academic performance, and to perform a meta-analysis to quantify these effects. Nine electronic databases were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials comparing drug treatment for ADHD against (i) no drug treatment, (ii) baseline (in crossover trials), or (iii) placebo; reporting outcomes encompassing measures of educational achievement within the classroom environment. Forty-three studies involving a pooled total of 2,110 participants were identified for inclusion. Drug treatment benefited children in the amount of school work that they completed, by up to 15%, and less consistently improved children's accuracy in specific types of academic assignments, such as arithmetic. Similar improvements were seen in classroom behaviour, with up to 14% more of children's time spent "on task". Methylphenidate, dexamfetamine and mixed amfetamine formulations all showed beneficial effects on children's on-task behaviour and academic work completion. Atomoxetine was examined in two studies, and was found to have no significant effect. These review findings suggest that medication for ADHD has the potential to improve children's learning and academic achievement. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 7 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 2 | 29% |
| Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 1 | 14% |
| Canada | 1 | 14% |
| Unknown | 3 | 43% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 6 | 86% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 14% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 310 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 2 | <1% |
| Spain | 1 | <1% |
| Netherlands | 1 | <1% |
| United States | 1 | <1% |
| Unknown | 305 | 98% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Bachelor | 64 | 21% |
| Student > Master | 51 | 16% |
| Researcher | 33 | 11% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 28 | 9% |
| Other | 19 | 6% |
| Other | 61 | 20% |
| Unknown | 54 | 17% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 107 | 35% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 49 | 16% |
| Social Sciences | 24 | 8% |
| Neuroscience | 12 | 4% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 11 | 4% |
| Other | 44 | 14% |
| Unknown | 63 | 20% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 333. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 27 February 2024.
All research outputs
#99,470
of 25,374,647 outputs
Outputs from European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
#6
of 1,824 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#512
of 285,367 outputs
Outputs of similar age from European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
#1
of 21 outputs
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