Table 1.

Studies assessing preference for treatments directly experienced by the respondents or their children

Citation	Preference assessment method	Preference content	Respondent (N)	Key results
Efron et al46	Single-item assessment of preference at end of treatment period in a crossover trial (no further details provided)	Children received treatment with MPH and DEX, each for 2 weeks in a double-blind, crossover trial. After both treatment periods, parents were asked to specify which treatment they preferred	Parents of children (mean age of 8.73 years) with ADHD (N = 125)	46 of 104 parents (36.8%) indicated that they preferred the DEX treatment period, and 58 parents (46.4%) indicated that they preferred the MPH treatment period
Fredericks and Kollins49	Double-blind choice procedure	Participants received double-blind treatment with either placebo or MPH during four study ‘sampling sessions’. During eight subsequent ‘choice sessions’, participants chose which treatment they would receive: placebo, MPH, or neither	Adults with ADHD (N = 10)	MPH was preferred in 50% of the choices; placebo 32.5%, neither 17.5% (significant difference among choices; χ2 = 52.5, P < 0.001)
MacDonald Fredericks and Kollins50	Double-blind choice procedure	Participants received double-blind treatment with either placebo or MPH during six study ‘sampling sessions’. During six subsequent ‘choice sessions’, participants chose which treatment they would receive: placebo, MPH, or neither	Children/adolescents (aged 10–14) with ADHD (N = 5)	MPH was preferred in 60% of the choices; placebo 20%; neither 20% (significant difference among choices; χ2 = 9.6, P < 0.01)
Pelham et al48	Unspecified preference assessment completed at end of double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial	Children received treatment with placebo, IR MPH (three times daily), and a once daily MPH formulation in a randomly selected order. At the end of the three 7-day treatment periods, parents were asked to choose which of the treatment weeks they preferred for their child	Parents of children with ADHD (aged 6–12) (N = 68)	47% of the parents selected once daily MPH as the treatment of choice, 31% selected IR MPH, 15% chose their child’s previous MPH treatment, and 7% either chose placebo or had no preference
Quintana et al47	Unspecified preference assessment completed at end of clinical trial	In this 6-week study, children and adolescents with incomplete response or intolerance to stimulant treatment switched to atomoxetine after the first week. The two treatments were compared using an unspecified preference assessment method	Children and adolescents (aged 6–17 years) with ADHD (N = 58)	65.5% of subjects reported a preference for atomoxetine treatment over their previous psychostimulant

Abbreviations: MPH, methylphenidate; DEX, dexamphetamine; ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; IR, immediate release.