Behavioural parent programmes changed parenting and conduct — even where symptom ratings held steady
A meta-analysis separating blinded from unblinded outcomes across several domains
Reviewed by Sian Trombley, CCCFounder, Thrive Family Company
Strong confidence
Source citation
Daley D., van der Oord S., Ferrin M., Danckaerts M., Doepfner M., Cortese S., et al. (2014). Behavioral Interventions in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials Across Multiple Outcome Domains. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2014.05.013
Published 1 January 2014 · Added to Thrive 26 July 2026 · Reviewed 26 July 2026
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Do behavioural programmes for ADHD work? The answer depends entirely on which outcome you measure.
Published research findings
The study
Daley and colleagues pooled randomised trials of behavioural interventions and analysed outcomes separately by whether the rater knew the treatment group.
What researchers examined
Effects on ADHD symptoms, conduct problems, parenting quality, parenting confidence and academic outcomes.
What they found
Blinded measures showed clear improvements in conduct problems, parenting behaviour and parenting confidence. Effects on core ADHD symptoms were small once blinding was accounted for.
Thrive editorial interpretation
What this may mean for families
Behavioural work is best framed as improving family life and behaviour around ADHD, rather than removing inattention itself.
What this doesn't tell us
Important limitations
Programmes differed substantially and blinded measures were unavailable for some domains.
Evidence confidence describes how much weight this study's design can carry — not how strongly the finding applies to any individual child or family.
Therapist perspective — Thrive interpretation, not a finding of the study
Therapist Perspective
This is the honest version of the promise: the household gets calmer, the relationship improves, and the ADHD is still ADHD.
Practical family considerations
Judge a parenting programme by conduct and connection, not by symptom counts.
This research summary is educational and does not replace individualized medical, psychological or therapeutic advice.
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For ADHD, the interventions that held up were the ones that changed the environment
2013 · Meta-analysis
Moderate confidence
Why it matters
Behavioural parent work is worth doing for the reasons it actually delivers: calmer routines, better relationships, fewer daily collisions — not as a symptom cure.