Intervention Research for ADHD

The purpose of this paper is to consider observation research with and without intervention. The definition of observation is to make a statement or remark about something noticed or actively observing, which can include visual and aural attention (Merriam-Webster online, 2014). Observations can be inclusionary of intervention or completely hands-off. In this paper, I will discuss the implications of intervention as used in two particular observation research studies pertaining to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). After a quick analysis of each research field observation utilizing intervention methods, there will also be a brief discussion pertaining to challenges with the method and how it compares to observation without intervention as a chosen method of research. The first study is found on the Centers for Disease Control website and relates to an on-going research field study utilizing play.

The play study is being performed through field research in Oklahoma and South Carolina for comparison of results. The study involves the use of surveys that are completed by teaching staff and parents. After identifying their target group with behavior factors that aligned with the threshold data baseline, a deeper analysis of current treatments, effectiveness, and analysis of current diagnosis levels, the prevalence of medication treatments, and over-diagnosis were considered. “The study included information collected from parents, teachers, and from the child. The follow-up project spanned five years and included annual in-depth interviews, semi-annual data collection on a few measure, and brief quarterly contacts” (CDC, 2014). The intervention component involved the interaction with teachers, parents, and students. The interviews and surveys included questions that were, in a way, leading. This can affect results when subjects are asked to focus or think of things in a specific manner as opposed to merely being observed without any form of interaction or influence on their behavior.

A second study focused on pharmacological interventions as well as psychosocial interventions or standard community care as the sole source of treatment. This study found that the pharmacological treatment was far superior to all other interventions with or without pharmacological intervention (Paul et al, 2000). The intervention was the use of pharmacological treatments paired with functional imaging studies that verified the blood flow and prefrontal cortex behavior activity as well as that of the striatum and catecholamine systems dysregulation in participants diagnosed with ADHD (Paul et al, 2000). It is obvious that medicinal intervention would create physiological changes in body and brain responses. The concern remains with whether those changes are to the detriment or benefit of the person(s) subjected to such treatment. The CDC warns against such treatment in the long term (CDC, 2014). The discussion and conclusion of these analyses will follow.

The interventions in both cases offer different challenges that mere observation would not impart. One psychologically skews results while the other physically imparts physiological responses that may or may not really be of benefit to a child or adult suffering from ADHD and the long-term effects of using such pharmacological interventions as Adderall are questionable even by the Centers for Disease Control. Mere observation of behavior, of outside influence on the participants and how those interactions create, exacerbate, or prevent behavior responses were not included in these studies and as a result, are left out from potential contributors to the disease that they seek to understand more fully. The other consideration with observation only research is that it can be biased by the observer’s own beliefs and understanding of the world or the particular subject matter studied. It truly is difficult to have a completely unbiased and untainted research study as long as human intervention or interpretation is involved. However, mechanical interpretation could leave out the emotional components that are much more difficult to dissect by data.

References

Centers for Disease Control (2014). PLAY Study Design: Project to learn about ADHD in youth. Retrieved from web http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/play.html on March 21, 2014.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2014). Observation. Retrieved from web http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/observation on March 20, 2014.

Paul, M.G., Rowland, A.S., Ferguson, S.A., Chelonis, J. J., Tannock, R., Swanson, J. M., and Castellanos, F. X. (September - October 22, 2000) Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Characteristics, interventions, and models. Neurotoxicol Teratol 5: 631-51. Retrieved from web http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed on March 21, 2014.