A Systematic and Explorative Literature Review Investigating Parent Training Interventions For Parents with ADHD

OBJECTIVES: It remains unclear how much parents with ADHD benefit from standard parenting interventions such as behavioral parent training (BPT). Our objective was to systematically review the literature on BPT aimed at adults with ADHD. As few studies with this focus were identified, we exploratively broadened our scope to quantitatively combine and qualitatively analyze studies of behavioral parenting interventions reporting parental ADHD characteristics. METHOD: A systematic review was conducted of studies evaluating BPT for (targeting) parents with ADHD. The broader literature was explored through meta-regressions and qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: In the systematic review, five studies focusing on parents with ADHD were identified, including two randomized controlled trials. These studies used different strategies to facilitate parents' BPT implementation: treating the parents' ADHD or adapting the BPT itself for adults with ADHD. The number of studies was too small to meta-analyze but narratively suggested that BPT delivered with consideration of parental ADHD functioning and needs can be associated with, for example, increased positive parenting skills. None of our main meta-regressions (5-14 studies) associated parental ADHD with BPT outcomes beyond the trend level. The qualitative literature analysis (54 reports) suggested several ways to adapt the contents and delivery of BPT for parents with ADHD and their contexts. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the potential of tailoring BPT to adults with ADHD. It also emphasizes the need for further research to determine the efficacy of BPT for parents with ADHD and to identify which BPT-related, individual, and contextual factors influence their BPT engagement and outcomes.