Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder controversies

10 mg methylphenidate tablet
Despite their safety and effectiveness in treating ADHD symptoms,[1] the use of methylphenidate and other stimulant medications is frequently a topic of public controversy.

Despite the scientifically well-established nature of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), its diagnosis, and its treatment,[1] each of these has been controversial since the 1970s.[2][3][4] The controversies involve clinicians, teachers, policymakers, parents, and the media. Positions range from the view that ADHD is within the normal range of behavior to the hypothesis that ADHD is a genetic condition. Other areas of controversy include the use of stimulant medications in children, the method of diagnosis, and the possibility of overdiagnosis.[4][5] In 2009, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, while acknowledging the controversy, stated that the current treatments and methods of diagnosis are based on the dominant view of the academic literature.

With differing rates of diagnosis across countries, states within countries, races, and ethnicities, some suspect factors other than the presence of the symptoms of ADHD are playing a role in diagnosis,[2] although the prevalence of ADHD is consistent internationally.[1] Some sociologists consider ADHD to be an example of the medicalization of deviant behavior, that is, turning the previously non-medical issue of school performance into a medical one.[3][4] Most healthcare providers accept ADHD as a genuine disorder, at least in the small number of people with severe symptoms.[4] Among healthcare providers the debate mainly centers on diagnosis and treatment in the much greater number of people with mild symptoms.[4][5][6]

  1. ^ a b c Faraone SV, et al. (2021). "The World Federation of ADHD International Consensus Statement: 208 Evidence-based conclusions about the disorder". Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 128. Elsevier BV: 789–818. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.01.022. ISSN 0149-7634. PMC 8328933. PMID 33549739.
  2. ^ a b Elder TE (September 2010). "The importance of relative standards in ADHD diagnoses: evidence based on exact birth dates". Journal of Health Economics. 29 (5): 641–656. doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2010.06.003. PMC 2933294. PMID 20638739.
  3. ^ a b Parrillo VN (2008). "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder". Encyclopedia of Social Problems. Sage. p. 63. ISBN 978-1412941655. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e Mayes R, Bagwell C, Erkulwater JL (2009). Medicating Children: ADHD and Pediatric Mental Health (illustrated ed.). Harvard University Press. pp. 4–24. ISBN 978-0-674-03163-0.
  5. ^ a b Merten EC, Cwik JC, Margraf J, Schneider S (2017). "Overdiagnosis of mental disorders in children and adolescents (in developed countries)". Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health. 11: 5. doi:10.1186/s13034-016-0140-5. PMC 5240230. PMID 28105068.
  6. ^ Taylor E (April 2017). "Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: overdiagnosed or diagnoses missed?". Archives of Disease in Childhood. 102 (4): 376–379. doi:10.1136/archdischild-2016-310487. PMID 27821518. S2CID 19878394.