Suchergebnisse

This Book distills the essential lessons learned from extensive consulting and evaluation work and shows the reader, step by step, how to apply them to the assessment of these organizations' activities. When used as a prac-tical tool, the Technical Guide provides a salutary, though possibly painful, insight into the workings of this type of institution. Since the mid-1980s, NGOs have been incredibly successful in attracting development cooperation funds. They have shown a remarkable ability to present themselves to the public, to policy makers and, above all, to donor institutions as a competent, dynamic and effective alternative to bureaucratic government-owned and -run development banks. Their main asset seems to be that they are private-sector institutions. This may indeed be a reason why they can be more dynamic and less bureaucratic. However, much like public-sector institutions, NGOs do not have a well-defined owner in an economic sense and therefore lack the profit motive as an incentive to operate efficiently. Accordingly, profitability does not serve as the standard on which they base their deci-sions and as a guarantee of their long-term viability. This guide seeks to pro-vide donors in particular with a methodology for gauging and monitoring the efficiency of credit-granting NGOs. However, implicitly it also makes clear the responsibility incumbent upon donors to ensure the survival of these institutionally fragile partners, which are sometimes used to disburse funds - in very much the usual manner - merely because they are perceived as a fashionable vehicle for development efforts. In such cases, no real consideration is given to credit-granting NGOs' institutional and organizational problems, and above all their deficiencies in the area of financial technology.

<b><i>Aims:</i></b> This study addressed the age of onset of conduct disorder (CD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in treatment-seeking substance use disorder (SUD) patients with and without adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its association with early onset of SUD. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We examined data from the 2nd <i>International ADHD in Substance Use Disorders Prevalence Study</i>, including 400 adults in SUD treatment from Puerto Rico, Hungary, and Australia. ADHD, SUD, and CD/ODD were assessed with the <i>Conners Adult ADHD Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV</i>, the <i>MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview</i>, and the K-SADS, respectively. Cox regression analyses modeled time to emergence of CD/ODD separately for SUD patients with and without adult ADHD. Linear regression models examined associations between age of onset of SUD and presence of ADHD and adjusted for sex, age, and country. To assess the mediating role of CD/ODD on the association of ADHD with onset of SUD, adjusted regression models were estimated. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Treatment-seeking SUD patients with ADHD presented an earlier onset of CD/ODD compared with those without ADHD. CD/ODD symptom loads were higher among the SUD and ADHD group. Age of first substance use and SUD were significantly earlier in SUD patients with ADHD, and these findings remained significant after adjustment for demographics and coexisting CD/ODD. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> ADHD is associated with earlier onset of SUD as well as with an earlier onset of more frequent and more severe disruptive behavioral disorders. These findings may inform preventive interventions to mitigate adverse consequences of ADHD.

Background: Childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a risk factor for substance misuse and substance use disorder (SUD) in adolescence and (early) adulthood. ADHD and SUD also frequently co-occur in treatment-seeking adolescents, which complicates diagnosis and treatment and is associated with poor treatment outcomes. Research on the effect of treatment of childhood ADHD on the prevention of adolescent SUD is inconclusive, and studies on the diagnosis and treatment of adolescents with ADHD and SUD are scarce. Thus, the available evidence is generally not sufficient to justify robust treatment recommendations. Objective: The aim of the study was to obtain a consensus statement based on a combination of scientific data and clinical experience. Method: A modified Delphi study to reach consensus based upon the combination of scientific data and clinical experience with a multidisciplinary group of 55 experts from 17 countries. The experts were asked to rate a set of statements on the effect of treatment of childhood ADHD on adolescent SUD and on the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of adolescents with comorbid ADHD and SUD. Results: After 3 iterative rounds of rating and adapting 37 statements, consensus was reached on 36 of these statements representing 6 domains: general (n = 4), risk of developing SUD (n = 3), screening and diagnosis (n = 7), psychosocial treatment (n = 5), pharmacological treatment (n = 11), and complementary treatments (n = 7). Routine screening is recommended for ADHD in adolescent patients in substance abuse treatment and for SUD in adolescent patients with ADHD in mental healthcare settings. Long-acting stimulants are recommended as the first-line treatment of ADHD in adolescents with concurrent ADHD and SUD, and pharmacotherapy should preferably be embedded in psychosocial treatment. The only remaining no-consensus statement concerned the requirement of abstinence before starting pharmacological treatment in adolescents with ADHD and concurrent SUD. In contrast to the majority, some experts required full abstinence before starting any pharmacological treatment, some were against the use of stimulants in the treatment of these patients (independent of abstinence), while some were against the alternative use of bupropion. Conclusion: This international consensus statement can be used by clinicians and patients together in a shared decision-making process to select the best interventions and to reach optimal outcomes in adolescent patients with concurrent ADHD and SUD.