Mindfulness Intervention for College Students With ADHD

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that commonly persists into adulthood and is associated with significant life impairments. The current study evaluates the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a group-based mindfulness intervention for first-year college students with ADHD. If found to be feasible, acceptable, and efficacious, subsequent research will examine its impact on a larger scale to have a broader public health impact for college students with ADHD.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that commonly persists into adulthood. Stimulant and non-stimulant pharmacotherapies are the mainstay of treatment; however, non- pharmacological interventions such as mindfulness have significant empirical support. The Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPs) for ADHD program, an 8-week, group-based mindfulness program for adults with ADHD, has been shown to reduce ADHD, depression, and anxiety symptoms. While promising, it is unknown as to whether the MAPs protocol is feasible, acceptable, and efficacious for college students with ADHD. The current study takes the first step towards enhanced study of mindfulness for college students with ADHD by testing the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of an adapted MAPs protocol delivered within university counseling center settings during the first semester of college. First-year college students with ADHD will be recruited through the University of Alabama's Office of Disability Services and Wofford College's Accessibility Services. After developing and beta testing an adapted MAPs intervention at both sites, students will be randomized to adapted MAPs or Services-As-Usual (SAU; standard academic support services provided by university disability/accessibility offices). Groups will include 10 first-year students and will be run over a 2-year period in the fall semesters (i.e., 4 MAPs groups across the two sites; total MAPs n = 40; total SAU n = 40). MAPs groups will be led by trained therapists in university counseling centers. Assessments will occur at pre, post, and 6-month follow-up using measures of ADHD, sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT), anxiety, and depression symptoms along with emotion regulation and mindfulness, our hypothesized mechanisms of change. Aims of the project are to: 1) adapt, manualize, and beta test the intervention, 2) conduct a pilot randomized controlled trial of adapted MAPs compared to SAU and examine feasibility and acceptability measures and clinical outcomes, and 3) examine whether the adapted MAPs intervention changes the targets hypothesized to be associated with changes in clinical outcomes (i.e., emotional regulation, mindfulness). If adequate feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy are documented, mindfulness for college students with ADHD can continue to be evaluated in larger trials. If ultimately found to be efficacious, this protocol has the potential to be widely disseminated within college counseling centers to have a broader public health impact for college students with ADHD.

Students with ADHD will be randomized to a group-based mindfulness intervention or Services-As-Usual (SAU; standard academic support services provided by university disability/accessibility offices).

The Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPs) for ADHD program, an 8-week, group-based mindfulness program for adults with ADHD, has been shown to reduce ADHD, depression, and anxiety symptoms. While promising, it is unknown as to whether the MAPs protocol is feasible, acceptable, and efficacious for college students with ADHD. The current study takes the first step towards enhanced study of mindfulness for college students with ADHD by testing the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of an adapted MAPs protocol delivered within university counseling center settings during the first semester of college.

Services-As-Usual includes the standard academic support services provided by university disability/accessibility offices.

The Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPs) for ADHD program is an 8-week, group-based mindfulness program for adults with ADHD.

Services-As-Usual includes the standard academic support services provided by university disability/accessibility offices.

This measure will assess whether the therapist delivered each intervention component and will ask the therapist to rate the degree of difficulty with implementation.

Inclusion Criteria: First-semester college student with ADHD Age 17-25 Must meet criteria for ADHD No major medical problems Exclusion Criteria: Severe depression Mania Ongoing substance abuse Personality disorder that may interfere with group delivery Psychotic symptoms Recent history of trauma Unstable dosage of psychotropic medication

Data will not be released/shared until publication or 12 months after the project end date, whichever comes first.