A Comparative Study of Effectiveness of Neurofeedback and Ritalin on Improving Conduct Problems and Hyperactivity

Introduction & There are varieties of interventions to treatment of ADHD, among which drug therapy, behavior therapy, parental management training and neurofeedback can be cited. The present study designed to investigate and compare the effectiveness of neurofeedback and Ritalin on improving conduct problems and hyperactivity. Quasi-experimental research method with pretest-post test design has been applied in the research. Statistical population of the study consisted of ADHD children of Tehran. The study samples of the study were patients referred to children psychiatric clinic. Based on the purpose of the study' 20 children were randomly selected and classified into 2 groups according to random assignment. CPRS-48 (parent form) was administered by parents before and after the treatments as research tools. Recruited data was analyzed by SPSS-19 in two sections of descriptive and inferential statistics. ANCOVA revealed some differences in the groups. The findings of the study showed that there was a significant difference between Ritalin and neurofeedback on improving conduct problems; in other words, Ritalin was more effective in alleviating the problems. Also there was no significant difference between the interventions on improving hyperactivity index. With respect to more efficiency of Ritalin than neurofeedback on certain continuum of signs/symptoms of ADHD, as a whole, preferences of interventions should be based on type, magnitude and severity of the syndrome.