LE3 .A278 2017

2017

Potter, Susan

Acadia University

Master of Science

Masters

Psychology

Psychology

Research supporting the use of probiotics to treat psychiatric conditions is rapidly accumulating. However, their effect on childhood anxiety has not been explored, and no clinical trials investigating their effectiveness in treating ADHD symptoms exist. The current experiment explored the effects of probiotics on symptoms of anxiety and ADHD in children by randomly assigning participants to consume probiotics and placebo in a repeated measures design. Intervention phases were each four weeks in duration, counterbalanced, and separated by a washout period. Children and parents completed questionnaires measuring anxiety and ADHD symptomology before and after each intervention phase. Contrary to the hypotheses, a decrease in ADHD symptoms during Phase 1 occurred in both conditions, and probiotics did not reduce children’s self-reported anxiety more than placebo. However, parents reported significant declines in anxiety symptomology during the probiotic phases only, suggesting that probiotics may provide some benefits for childhood anxiety.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:2161