Construction of goal management training program and its efficacy for mental health intervention in college students with inattentive attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

To explore the efficacy of goal management training (GMT) on core symptoms and mental status in college students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) inattentive type.

Delphi method was used to construct a GMT program for college students with inattentive ADHD. Then, totally 68 college students with inattentive ADHD were recruited through advertisements published by hospitals and universities (Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University, and 3 universities in Chongqing from March to June 2024. The subjects were randomly divided into an intervention group (n=34) and a control group (n=34). The intervention group received GMT for 2 h, once a week, for 7 weeks, and the control group did not receive training for the time being. The 2 groups were evaluated within 1 week before and in 7 weeks after intervention by using Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS), Dysregulation of Emotions Rating Scale (DERS), Generalized Anxiety Disorde-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS).

① The expert authority coefficient (Cr) of 2 rounds of expert consultation was 0.83, with a questionnaire recovery rate of 100% and 95%, respectively, the Kendall’s coordination coefficient was 0.081 (P<0.01) and 0.226 (P<0.01), and the coefficient of variation was <0.3, indicating the results of the expert consultation were reliable. The constructed GMT program includes 1 first-level indicator, 7 second-level indicators, and 20 third-level indicators. ② After 7 weeks of GMT intervention, the interaction between the 2 groups and time showed that the experimental group obtained significant improvements than the control group in terms of inattention symptoms (Wald Chi-square=28.35, P<0.001), dysregulation of emotions (Wald Chi-square=23.81, P<0.001), anxiety (Wald Chi-square=22.79, P<0.001), depression (Wald Chi-square=20.52, P<0.001), self-compassion (Wald Chi-square=9.36, P<0.01), and life satisfaction (Wald Chi-square=3.97, P<0.05).

GMT intervention can significantly improve the core symptoms of college students with inattentive ADHD, reduce anxiety and depression levels, enhance their emotion regulation and self-compassion abilities, and improve their life satisfaction.