Preliminary intervention exploration of the new forest parenting programme in families of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in China / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To analyze the efficacy of the new forest parenting programme (NFPP) for children and families with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in China, and to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of the programme in China.Methods:Twenty-two children with ADHD diagnosed at the Child Psychology Development and Behavior Outpatient Clinic of the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University and their primary caregivers were included in the study from January 2022 to May 2023. The children with ADHD were divided into an experimental group ( n=11) and a control group ( n=11) according to the personal preference of the primary caregivers. The experimental group was provided with the NFPP intervention once a week for a period of 8 weeks. The Chinese version of Swanson Nolan and Pelham, version Ⅳ scale-parent form(SNAP-Ⅳ)and Weiss functional impairment rating scales-parent report(WFIRS-P))were used to assess the improvement of core symptoms and social function impairment in the two groups before and after the intervention. In the experimental group, the Chinese parenting sense of competence scale (C-PSOC) and the parenting styles and dimensions questionnaire (PSDQ) were used to evaluate the parenting efficiency and improvement of parenting styles of primary caregivers in ADHD families before and after NFPP intervention. A Semi-open interview was conducted with 11 primary caregivers of ADHD children in the experimental group at the end of the intervention regarding knowledge of ADHD disease diagnosis and treatment, parenting attitudes, and parenting behaviors. The data was statistically analyzed by SPSS 26.0 software.Statistical analysis of data was used by independent sample t-test, paired sample t-test, Mann Whitney U-test, and rank sum test. Results:(1) Compared with the post-intervention control group, the total score((4.01±1.05), (2.79±0.94), t=2.875, P<0.05) in the SNAP-Ⅳ, the scores of the oppositional defiance dimension((1.27±0.34), (0.70±0.33), t=4.043, P<0.05) in the SNAP-Ⅳ, the scores of the family in WFIRS-P ((0.92±0.47), (0.56±0.26), t=2.246, P<0.05), and the scores of life skills in WFIRS-P (1.1(0.9, 1.3), (0.6(0.5, 0.8), Z=-2.013, P<0.05)were significantly lower in the post-intervention experimental group ( P<0.05). After intervention, the scores of the 3 dimensions of attention deficit, impulsivity/hyperactivity, and oppositional defiance and the total score of the SNAP-Ⅳ in the experimental group were significantly lower than those before intervention (all P<0.05). (2) After intervention, the score of the parenting efficacy dimension in the C-PSOC in experimental group was significantly higher than pre-intervention ( P<0.05). After intervention, the scores of the PSDQ for authoritative parenting style in the self-assessment and other-assessment in the experimental group were significantly higher than pre-intervention (all P<0.05), and the scores of the authoritarian parenting style and the permissive parenting style were significantly lower than pre-intervention (all P<0.05). (3) The results of the semi-open interview suggested that, the primary caregivers of children with ADHD in the experimental group had a positive attitude toward the NFPP intervention and were able to participate in the entire 8-week intervention, and apply the learned parenting skills to daily life to continuously improve parenting efficiency. After the NFPP intervention, the primary caregivers of children with ADHD had a deeper understanding of the knowledge of ADHD diseases, behavioral characteristics of children with ADHD, and so on. In the intervention content, the modules such as time management, communication skills and behavioral prediction were easy to grasp and effective. Conclusion:The NFPP can significantly improve the core symptoms of Chinese children with ADHD, increase the parenting efficacy of their primary caregivers, and improve their parenting styles.