Feasibility of School-Based ADHD Interventions: A Mixed-Methods Study of Perceptions of Adolescents and Adults

Objective: Little is known about perceptions surrounding academic interventions for ADHD that determine intervention feasibility. Method: As part of a longitudinal mixed-methods research project, representative school district samples of 148 adolescents (54.8%), 161 parents (59.4%), 122 teachers (50.0%), 46 health care providers (53.5%), and 92 school health professionals (65.7%) completed a cross-sectional survey. They also answered open-ended questions addressing undesirable intervention effects, which were analyzed using grounded theory methods. Results: Adolescents expressed significantly lower receptivity toward academic interventions than adult respondents. Stigma emerged as a significant threat to ADHD intervention feasibility, as did perceptions that individualized interventions foster inequality. Conclusion: Findings suggest that adolescents’ viewpoints must be included in intervention development to enhance feasibility and avoid interventions acceptable to adults, but resisted by adolescents.