Acting Out to ACTing On: A Preliminary Investigation in Youth with ADHD and Co-morbid Disorders

The feasibility of using acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to foster increases in congruence between values and behaviors pertinent to those values was evaluated with adolescents. Participants were nine, primarily African American, school aged children (11-15 years) with comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, learning disorders, and behavior problems who were enrolled at a charter school in an urban, South-central area of the United States. Despite some feasibility obstacles, several significant Reliable Change Index scores on the Behavior Assessment Scale for Children-second edition and the Bull's-Eye Values Assessment were found and other results approached statistical significance in the desirable direction. These findings suggest that ACT may be feasible for increasing congruence between values and behavior, and may have potential clinical utility with acceptance and mindfulness based treatments in youth with comorbid psychological and behavioral problems.