Abstract
<p>Background: Stigmatization towards adolescents with ADHD is prevalent, impairing and often experienced in the school context. Stigma has a cognitive, affective and behavioral component and anti-stigma interventions ideally target all these. Psychoeducation targets the cognitive component, adding an affective component to psychoeducation by experiencing ADHD symptoms oneself may enhance empathy and understanding and increase intervention effectiveness. This study describes the development of a school-based ADHD awareness training with psychoeducation together with parents and teachers of adolescents with ADHD, adolescents with ADHD and professionals of an ADHD advocacy organization aimed at reducing peer stigma and explores its effectiveness as compared to psychoeducation of ADHD only. Also, moderators for intervention effects were explored. Methods: Adolescents aged 14-16 years were randomly assigned to one of both interventions. Attitudes towards ADHD and disabilities in general were measured pre- and post-intervention with the ASQ [ADHD Stigma Questionnaire] and the CATCH [Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes Towards Children with Handicaps], respectively. Results: Due to amongst others COVID-19 related school closures substantial post-measurement data was missing. Completer analyses in 66% of the sample (N=115) showed a significant condition by time interaction; in the ADHD awareness condition positive attitudes towards ADHD significantly increased, which was not the case in the psychoeducation only condition; there were no moderator effects. No significant intervention effects were found on the CATCH. Conclusion: Results tentatively suggest that an ADHD awareness training is effective in reducing stigma, and that anti-stigma school-based interventions for ADHD may benefit from an affective component next to psychoeducation. These effects did not transfer to attitudes about disabilities in general. More efforts should be made in developing and testing school-based neurodiversity awareness programs.</p>