The Effects of Yoga on the Behaviour of Boys with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (adhd)

ADHD is a prevalent behaviour disorder affecting from between 3% – 5% of school age children. Boys are diagnosed with much greater frequency than girls. The current predominant treatment is psycho stimulant medication. In studies of the effects of yoga on other populations, yoga has been found to increase cerebral oxygen metabolism, improve functioning of the right hemisphere, increase alpha waves, improve memory, enhance motor performance and reduce anxiety. All these factors are affected in ADHD. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of teaching yoga to boys with ADHD as an adjunctive therapy to psycho-stimulant medication. The subjects (n=17) were boys aged 8-13 years, diagnosed with ADHD by paediatricians specialising in ADHD. Following pre-testing, eligible boys were randomly assigned to either an experimental (yoga) or control (co-operative games) group. The yoga group met once a week with a qualified yoga teacher for up to 20 weeks. The control group met monthly for cooperative games. All participants were preand post-tested using the Conners’ Parent Rating Scale Revised (CPRS – R), Conners’ Teacher Rating Scales Revised (CTRS – R), and the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA), which assesses the primary symptoms of ADHD (hyperactivity, impulsivity and attention deficit). There were significant group by time interactions on two CPRS subscales: Conners’ Global Index Total (F1,16= 7.294, p =.016); and Conners’ Global Emotional Lability (F1,16=8.683, p=.009). In the Conners’ Oppositional Scale there was a trend for group by time interaction (F1,16=4.649, p=.047). On the Conners’ Global Restless/Impulsive subscale, there was a significant main effect for time (F1,16 = 6.058 p=.026) and a trend toward a main effect by time interaction (F1,16=2.165, p =.160). No significant effects were evident in the remaining 10 subscales. There were no significant group or time differences on either the CTRS-R or the TOVA. Some of the results of this pilot study are promising and warrant further investigation. Methodological difficulties including small sample size, inadequate measures, lack of compliance and monitoring of home practice will need to be addressed in subsequent research.