TEACHER OPINION LEADERS & SERVICES FOR ADHD CHILDREN

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DESCRIPTION (Applicant's abstract): This application proposes to apply social diffusion theory (Rogers, 1983) to enhance the implementation of school-based mental health services for students with ADHD in low-income urban schools. Social diffusion theory has been used successfully to increase physicians' use of a novel medication (Colemen et al., 1966), and to increase safe sexual practices among gay men (Kelly, et al., 1991, 1992). Social diffusion theory proposes that information is disseminated throughout a social network by the persuasion of key opinion leaders. Following procedures used by Rogers (1983) and Kelly et al. (1991), we propose to identify key opinion leaders in 11 urban schools through sociometric interviews with target teachers. Opinion leaders (n=28) will be recruited to enroll in a university course through the UIC College of Education, developed and taught by the research team on effective educational and mental health strategies for students with ADHD. Community-based mental health service providers will also be enrolled in the course to develop collaborative relationships with opinion leaders in the schools in which they will be consulting (McKay et al, in press). ADHD students (n=400, equivalent numbers of ADHD-I and ADHD-C) will be identified using semi-structured diagnostic interviews in grades 1st through 4th in 26 inner-city schools, randomly assigned to opinion leader or no opinion leader conditions from a pool of 64 schools. Using an adaptation of Hoagwood et al.'s (1996) model for the comprehensive assessment of child mental health programs, focused specifically on the influence of teacher attitudes and practices regarding educational and mental health services for children with ADHD, measures will be obtained of environmental outcomes (teacher practices, parental awareness and involvement), system level outcomes (supportive services by schools), child functioning (academic and social), symptoms (ADHD, disruptive behavior), and satisfaction (parent, teacher, mental health provider). If hypothesized effects are supported, this model would provide a new form of collaboration between key opinion leaders within a school and outside mental health providers to effectively support adoption of innovative programs for students with ADHD attending urban low-income schools. This responds to the need for innovative strategies to enhance the use of school-based services for ADHD students, and has the potential to inform policy for the development of effective mental health services for inner-city children and families.