Attention Deficit Disorder With Hyperactivity, Animal Assisted Therapy
Conditions
Keywords
Animal Assisted Therapy, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Children, Primary Health Care Center, Psychotherapy, Psychiatry
Brief summary
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of AAT intervention in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), in terms of improving functionality, ADHD-associated symptoms, attention and working memory. Participants were recruited from a community Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service and a Primary Health Care Center. These objectives were accomplished through a multicenter, randomized clinical trial, open-label, two-arm study of AAT for children with ADHD.
Detailed description
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of Animal Assisted Therapy (with therapy dogs) in in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The investigators conducted a multicenter, randomized, controlled, open-label, two-arm clinical trial. Thirty-six children aged 7-12 diagnosed with ADHD were randomized in two groups. Experimental group: 14 animal assisted therapy (AAT) psychoeducational sessions (once-a-week, 60 minutes) + treatment as usual and control group: treatment as usual. Participants were recruited from a community Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service and a Primary Health Care Center. The investigators evaluated changes on functionality, ADHD-associated symptoms, attention and working memory at pre-treatment and post-treatment. Assessment included intelligence test, ADHD symptoms referred by parents and teacher's (Conners Rating Scale), attention measures (Conners Continuous Performance Test (CPT-3) and children's functioning (Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS)).
Interventions
OTHERpsychoeducational
A structured AAT program and usual treatment in Experimental group.
Sponsors
Fundacio d'Investigacio en Atencio Primaria Jordi Gol i Gurina
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Participants were recruited from a community Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service and a Primary Health Care Center. And randomized in two groups.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
7 Years to 12 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Age between 7 and 12 years old (included). * Diagnosis of ADHD confirmed at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. * Intelligence quotient of 80 or higher. * Delivery of the information sheet and signature of the informed consent.
Exclusion criteria
* If in the initial interview they declared having allergy or fear of dogs. * History of aggression towards animals. * Co-morbidity with other disorders (conduct disorders, autism spectrum disorders, anxiety disorder or depression). * If the treatment regimen was modified during the intervention period.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change from baseline Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) at 14 weeks. | This scale was administered at baseline and at week 14 | It is a numerical scale to rate the overall functioning of young people under 18 years of age. Scores range from 1 to 100. A higher score indicates better functioning. |
| Change from baseline Clinical Global Impression - Severity Scale (CGI-S) at 14 weeks | This scale was administered at baseline and at week 14 | Is an instrument for measuring symptom severity of patients with mental disorders. Uses a single item on a Likert scale of seven values from 1= Normal, not at all ill to 7= Among the most extremely ill patients. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change from baseline Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) at 14 weeks. | This scale was administered at baseline and at week 14 | This instrument measures intellectual ability of children from 6 to 16 years. It was developed to provide an overall measure of general cognitive ability, and measures of intellectual functioning in Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory and Processing Speed. The full version of the WISC-IV has 15 subtests, only ten are considered core, and used more often when testing intelligence. |
| Change from baseline Conners' Continuous Performance Test 3rd Edition (Conners CPT 3) at 14 weks | This test was administered at baseline and at week 14 | This test is a task-oriented computerized assessment of attention-related problems in individuals aged 8 years and older. By indexing the respondent's performance in areas of inattentiveness, impulsivity, sustained attention and vigilance. |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change from baseline Conners Rating Scales Revised at 14 weeks. | This scale was administered at baseline and at week 14 | In this study we used the short parents' version (27 items) and teachers' version (28 items). The scale is divided into 4 subscales: oppositional, inattention, hyperactivity -impulsivity and ADHD Index. Each item is scored from 0 to 3 (0= not true, 3= is always true). A typical score ≥70 indicates the presence of alterations in the subscale. |
Countries
Spain
Outcome results
None listed