Worth, Sam;
(2024)
A psychologically-informed bouldering intervention for children with differences associated with ADHD: a pilot study.
Doctoral thesis (D.Ed.Psy), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Research indicates a well-established link between ADHD and negative educational outcomes (Barry et al., 2002; Fleming et al., 2017), mental health outcomes (Secnik et al. 2005) and imprisonment (Young et al., 2015). The clinical evidence for medication as a means of symptom-reduction is strong (Cortese et al., 2018) and the proportion of individuals with ADHD who have been prescribed medication quadrupled in boys and increased almost nine-fold in girls between 2000 and 2018 (McKechnie et al., 2023). NICE guidelines recommend that medication should not be used as a first-line treatment in children with mild to moderate ADHD (NICE, 2016), as there are a number of associated side effects (Cascade et al. 2010). The current study aimed to expand the range of nonpharmacological intervention approaches for children who experience difficulties related to ADHD, by exploring a novel psychologically-informed bouldering approach. Twelve male participants (aged 11-13), with difficulties related to ADHD, took part in a six week psychologically-informed bouldering intervention. This convergent mixed-methods study collected pre- and post-intervention quantitative measures of attention, emotion regulation and cognitive regulation (using the TEA-CH2 and BRIEF-2). Quantitative data was analysed by comparing the means of scores pre- and post-intervention. Semi-structured interviews (post-intervention) were analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis and later integrated with quantitative findings to develop meta-inferences. The study found strong evidence that levels of attention and cognitive regulation had improved, thus providing early support for the application of psychologically-informed bouldering to support CYP with symptoms associated with ADHD. Qualitative data indicated that emotion regulation had improved for some participants, but this was not captured in the quantitative data. The study provided a unique contribution to the literature and future research should consider expanding the research sample in terms of size and in terms of individual differences (e.g. gender presentation).
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | D.Ed.Psy |
| Title: | A psychologically-informed bouldering intervention for children with differences associated with ADHD: a pilot study |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2024. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Psychology and Human Development |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10195317 |
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