ABSTRACT
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common mental disorders in childhood. It is estimated that approximately 5% of children and adolescents are affected worldwide (Polanczyk, de Lima, Horta, Biederman, & Rohde, 2007) and that most of them will present with symptoms and associated functional deficit in adult life (Faraone, Biederman, & Mick, 2006). The impact of ADHD can be devastating; the disorder pervades different areas of functioning, and symptoms are associated with lower academic achievements (Mannuzza, Klein, Bessler, Malloy, & Hynes, 1997), marital problems, difficulties with off-spring (Barkley & Fischer, 2010), lower employment status and unemployment (Mannuzza et al., 1997; Stein, 2008), more frequent involvement in traffic accidents (Barkley & Cox, 2007), and increased risk for other psychiatric disorders (Mannuzza, Klein, Bessler, Malloy, & LaPadula, 1998). Because of its pervasive impact, therapeutic interventions should target not only symptoms but also other aspects of psychosocial functioning. Treatment guidelines such as those from the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE, 2008), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP, 2011), American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP; Pliszka, 2007), European Guideline (Taylor et al., 2004), and Global Consensus (Remschmidt, 2005) recommend psychopharmacological and psychosocial interventions, isolated or in combination according to specific clinical configuration, as first-line treatment for ADHD. This review addresses specifically the issue of what evidence supports the efficacy and effectiveness of pharmacological, psychosocial, or combined treatment for children with ADHD. Our aim is to comprehensively review the literature, providing clinicians with empirically based information on this topic. Fortunately, an extensive amount of studies have already examined the efficacy of different treatment strategies for ADHD.
