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DBT Skills Group for Adolescents with ADHD

The Acceptability and Feasibility of Implementing a Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Skills Group for Adolescents with ADHD

Status
Enrolling by invitation
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05841212
Enrollment
25
Registered
2023-05-03
Start date
2025-02-27
Completion date
2026-09-30
Last updated
2025-03-06

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

ADHD

Brief summary

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) is linked to three main symptoms: hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. It is increasingly being acknowledged that these symptoms have a wide-reaching impact on a person's life. Adolescents with ADHD are six times more likely to be excluded from school, have difficulties turn taking, express anger more often, have poorer emotion regulation and self-report a lower quality of life. In adulthood, people with ADHD are more likely to develop mental health difficulties, and to experience unemployment, divorce and be imprisoned. It is thought that emotion regulation and poor social skills are key factors leading to increases in mental health difficulties and poorer long term social outcomes. This pilot trial will look at whether an intervention which aims to increase emotion regulation and social functioning is acceptable and feasible. The intervention will be an adapted Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) skills group with an ADHD focus. DBT is an approach that aims to provide skills to assist an individual identify what they are feeling and change what they do in response to that feeling. For example, if an individual feels anger and the urge to be aggressive, DBT helps them to problem solve and find a more effective way of responding to their anger. Also, if an individual wants to communicate a relational need to others DBT helps them think about the most effective actions they can take to achieve this outcome. The intervention will be developed in collaboration with adolescents with ADHD. The intervention will then be delivered at the child and adolescent outpatient clinic site they received their diagnosis from. All participants will have a confirmed diagnosis of ADHD. Pre and post measures will be collected and reported on. The research team hope to commence recruitment in July 2023 and finish all data collection by 31st March 2024.

Interventions

OTHERDBT for ADHD

See information included in arm/group description.

Sponsors

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
CollaboratorOTHER
King's College London
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
13 Years to 16 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactive disorder (using either DSM 5, DSM-IV, or ICD-10 - F90) * Age 13-16 years * Likely to benefit from DBT skills and can safely access/ engage in group interventions as assessed by clinical team \[for intervention part\]

Exclusion criteria

* A low enough proficiency in written and spoken English that they would be unable to engage in the content of the group. * Have not recently changed their medication in the last 2 weeks\*, commenced a new medication in the last 2 weeks\* or are receiving additional concurrent psychological intervention. (\*calculated from the start of the intervention). * The identified participant has recently taken part in another research trial and are at risk of research burden. * Pose a risk to others in the group

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
66% of participants or more from the focus group will report above neutral satisfaction.Within 12 monthsTo assess whether participants will find both the intervention and assessment methods acceptable, we will conduct a focus group and use thematic analysis to ascertain the satisfaction rating.
60% or more of participants will complete a follow up measures.Within12-monthsTo assess whether the intervention is feasible in terms of retention, for adolescents with ADHD.
Individual participant attendance rate will be greater than 50%.Within12-monthsTo assess whether the intervention is feasible in terms of retention, for adolescents with ADHD.
66% of participants or more will report above neutral satisfaction ratings on weekly questionnaireWithin 12 monthsTo assess whether participants will find both the intervention and assessment methods acceptable.
25 participants with ADHD will be recruited from CAMHS services.Within12-monthsTo assess whether the intervention is feasible in terms of recruitment, for adolescents with ADHD.
60% of participants or more will attend all group sessions.Within12-monthsTo assess whether the intervention is feasible in terms of retention, for adolescents with ADHD.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
At post-treatment compared to baseline participants will report a reduction in ADHD symptoms.Within 12 monthsParticipants will complete the Connors 3rd edition self report form and SNAP-IV-26 (1992) pre and post the intervention. We will report on any changes between baseline and post treatment score using effect sizes and confidence intervals. As this is a pilot trial tentative conclusions will be drawn from these findings.
At post treatment compared to baseline participants will report improved social skills and functioning.Within 12 monthsParticipants will complete the WSAS-Y (2019) pre and post the intervention. We will report on any changes between baseline and post treatment score using effect sizes and confidence intervals. As this is a pilot trial tentative conclusions will be drawn from these findings.
At post-treatment compared to baseline participants will report improved levels of emotion regulationWithin 12 monthsParticipants will complete the DERS-SF (2015) pre and post the intervention. We will report on any changes between baseline and post treatment score using effect sizes and confidence intervals. As this is a pilot trial tentative conclusions will be drawn from these findings.

Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026