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Many children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not receive appropriate services following diagnosis. Although information about ADHD is widely available and abundant, sometimes conflicting information may impede parent help-seeking. The present study examined parent knowledge of ADHD and attributions of child behavior as predictors of interest in formal and informal help seeking at the point of child evaluation for possible ADHD. Participants (89 caregivers of children ages 5–12) completed a measure of ADHD knowledge, rated attributions of child behavior in response to vignettes depicting ADHD symptoms, and indicated their interest in a range of formal and informal services that could be recommended following the child's evaluation. Parents reported strongest interest in academic services followed by medication, child focused therapy, and informal services (e.g., seeking information about ADHD). Family income, ADHD knowledge and attributions that child behavior will persist over time were associated with all types of help-seeking interest except academic services. Perceptions of child control over behavior predicted greater interest in medication. Findings suggest that increasing parent knowledge of ADHD and exploring parent goals and preferences for treatment may increase service utilization for children following assessment/diagnosis of ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Current theories hypothesize that deficits in executive functioning (EF) are responsible for the symptoms of ADHD and that specific patterns of EF deficits may be associated with different subtypes of ADHD. The present study evaluates the validity and clinical usefulness of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, a behavior rating scale designed to assess dimensions of EF. Method: Participants include 70 boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 13 referred to a university-based clinic for assessment of ADHD. Results: Results indicate low interrater reliability but acceptable convergent validity. Conclusion: Parent report on the Behavior Regulation scale differentiates the ADHD-Combined Type group from the ADHD-Inattentive Type and non-ADHD groups, and the Metacognitive Index differentiates both ADHD subtypes from the non-ADHD group, thus supporting the clinical utility of this measure in a clinic-referred sample. (Contains 6 tables.)

The present study examined perceived barriers to parental adherence with child psychological assessment recommendations. Eighty caregivers of children referred to an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) evaluation clinic completed a telephone interview 4 to 6 weeks after receiving evaluation feedback. Caregivers reported adherence to 81.5% of recommendations and were equally likely to engage in self-help recommendations (i.e., information on ADHD) and those for professional-nonpsychological services (i.e., medication consultation). Caregivers were least likely to follow through on recommendations for psychological services (e.g., parental behavior training, individual therapy for children with symptoms of anxiety/depression). Higher rather than lower levels of parenting stress were associated with greater adherence. The most commonly reported barriers were lack of time and perceptions that the child's teacher was uncooperative with implementing school-based recommendations. [c] 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 66:1101-1120, 2010. Keywords: psychological assessment; parental adherence; ADHD; help seeking behavior DOI: 10.1002/jclp.20718