Development and effectiveness of parent skills training intervention for Indian families having children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Parent skills training interventions (PSTIs) are considered first-line treatment for ADHD. We describe development and effectiveness of a culturally-contextualised PSTI for Indian families. Forty-one families divided into 5 groups, each group with 6–10 families received group PSTI comprising of 10 weekly sessions using multi-point videoconferencing as an adjunct to routine care in the non-randomized pre-post intervention study. Thirty-six families attended more than 3 sessions. RM ANOVA revealed significant improvements in parent-rated measures of inattention (p < 0.001), hyperactivity/ impulsivity (p = 0.007), conduct problems (p = 0.002), academic performance (p = 0.001) and classroom behavior (p = 0.001). Mixed ANOVA analysis did not reveal significant differences between those who received PSTI with medication and those who received PSTI on any VADPRS domains except depression/ anxiety scores, wherein former group performed better (p = 0.008). More than 60 % parents perceived that PSTI was helpful in increasing awareness, reducing guilt/ blame, improving parent-child relation and decreasing stress. Difficulty in sustaining with the strategies was reported by 50 % of parents. Findings suggest that PSTI is effective and helpful for Indian families dealing with ADHD.