Assessing and treating attention deficit disorder in adolescents. The clinical application of a single-case research design.

Psychiatric assessment strategies that integrate research findings with daily practice are necessary and clinically useful. This paper uses the example of an attention deficit disordered adolescent to illustrate how double-blind placebo controlled and multi-dose adjustment designs can be successfully implemented in routine clinical practice. These designs are especially valuable in evaluating the therapeutic effect of methylphenidate because of biases that may lead to clinical misuse of this stimulant medication.