The appeal of tai chi and complementary therapies for college students with ADHD

Abstract

Background:  Developing effective non-pharmacological therapies for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is important. We gauged the likelihood that undergraduates would participate in a trial of tai chi as an intervention for ADHD, and evaluated attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Methods: We collected survey responses from 47 undergraduates with ADHD and 49 healthy controls, measuring their likelihood of participating in trials of tai chi and other non-pharmacological therapies, along with attitudes toward CAM. We examined the relationship between diagnosis, CAM attitudes, and willingness to participate in a trial. Results: Undergraduates with ADHD showed greater acceptance of CAM therapies. Thirty two percent of students with ADHD expressed strong willingness to participate in a tai chi trial. Conclusion: These results support the feasibility of a trial of tai chi as therapy for undergraduates with ADHD, and suggest this population is receptive toward CAM. Future research should examine why interest in CAM is greater among students with ADHD.

Keywords:

• ADHD
• CAM
• health attitudes
• intervention
• tai chi

Acknowledgment

The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States and received approval from the the University of Wisconsin-Madison Institutional Review Board.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. All procedures were approved by the University of Wisconsin-Madison IRB (protocol 2015-0500). All participants granted their consent to participate in this research.

Consent for publication

No individual data is presented. Not Applicable.

Availability of data and material

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Authors’ contributions

SS conducted the literature review, handled human subjects’ procedures, co-designed the study and was a major contributor in writing the manuscript. AC co-designed study procedures, analyzed, and interpreted the data, and wrote the methods and results section. CT handled recruitment and survey administration and co-designed study procedures. All authors contributed to the introduction, discussion section, and read and approved the final manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (T32AT006956) which supported the Traineeship of Dr. Sulzer while she completed work related to this publication, the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (U54HD090256), the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (MSN184421), and a UW-Madison Vilas Research Professorship Award supported Dr. Alex Converse.