A biased ADHD discourse ignores human uniqueness

Erlandsson, Soly; Punzi, Elisabeth

doi:10.1080/17482631.2017.1319584

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(21 reference statements)

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“…The problem is that in the current neuro-era, any model that intertwines its components too thoroughly, risks an explanatory imbalance where "the brain" is given interpretive precedence: a BIOpsychosocial model. Cooper (15), for example, delivers a proposal for a biopsychosocial perspective by criticizing five (what we believe are partly relevant) claims that (1) there is an absence of neuro-scientific evidence for ADHD, (2) ADHD is an example of determinism, (3) ADHD rest on culturally specific judgements, (4) ADHD legitimizes the use of stimulant drugs, (5) ADHD is a medicalization of defiant behaviors. Despite his ambition of criticizing the polarity in itself, he almost exclusively criticizes one pole (e.g., constructionistic, sociological, cultural) from the position of the other pole (e.g., positivistic, materialistic, biological).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the relatively short history of psychiatry and mental health care, there are numerous examples of diagnoses, interventions, and explanations of human suffering that later has been questioned ( 1 ). Today, large resources are invested in research on the role of genetic and neurological factors in the etiology of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) [see for example ( 2 ), whereby neuropsychiatric assessment and treatment with central stimulant drugs are favored].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Is ADHD a way of conceptualizing long-term emotional stress and social disadvantage?

Erlandsson

Hornborg

Sorbring

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundThe prevalent, neuropsychiatric, deficit perspective on children and youth diagnosed with ADHD prohibits a multidimensional approach where socio-economic status, family stress and relationships within the families are relevant factors to examine. Assessments of ADHD through the use of rating scales and short-term interventions may lead not only to overdiagnosis but also to a reductionistic approach in the psychiatric field. This literature review aims to address research outside the prevailing discourse on ADHD as an organic brain dysfunction and broaden the perspectives on children's behavioral difficulties.MethodsThe articles included in this applied, mixed-method, systematic review includes 26 peer-reviewed articles, both English and French, with a search focus on ADHD in children and youth related to Attachment styles and relationships.ResultsIn the studies reported, researchers approached correlations between ADHD and attachment in different ways, and in most cases, there was a caution to address causality. The role of parents was found to be both buffering and aggravating for the appearance of ADHD. In the French case studies, the diagnosis was conceptualized as a relational phenomenon where the child's behavior was inseparable from family member's suffering.DiscussionThis review article illustrates how children's difficulties in terms of ADHD symptoms can be addressed through a paradigm where emotional and cognitive dysregulation is understood through psychosocial factors rather than as a neurological condition. In our view, to avoid an overly reductionistic and medicalized approach to children's behavioral difficulties, it is time to reiterate the value of the biopsychosocial perspective.ConclusionProfessionals and researchers need to acknowledge that becoming diagnosed with ADHD has a strong connection to economic disadvantage, social status, and familial care. The academic discourse of addressing brain dysfunctions might serve the unintended purpose of masking emotional stress and social disadvantage that manifests across generations. A biopsychosocial approach to ADHD including family, emotional history, and socio-economic issues could imply a lesser focus on medical treatment as a first choice.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is ADHD a way of conceptualizing long-term emotional stress and social disadvantage?

Erlandsson

Hornborg

Sorbring

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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“…Some relate it to a broadening of diagnostic criteria, but also to how both lay people and professionals have gained a heightened awareness of neuropsychiatric difficulties among children (Atladottir et al, 2015). Other have expressed worries that increased psychiatric diagnosing of children reflects a tendency in contemporary society to reduce human behaviors and difficulties to neurobiological functions in a way that ignores children's emotional experiences and social contexts (Erlandsson & Punzi, 2017), and that it serves the function of medicalizing childhood (Pawluch, 2003). Psychiatric diagnosing of children is thus not an uncontroversial phenomenon.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is it FASD? And does it matter? Swedish perspectives on diagnosing fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Vepsä

2020

Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy

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Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) is an umbrella term covering a range of conditions related to prenatal alcohol exposure. In Sweden, only the most severe of these conditions, Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), is used as a medical diagnosis. The aim of this study was to analyze the Swedish discussion on whether or not FASD conditions (other than FAS) should be actively diagnosed/identified. The data consisted of a webpage material from a FASD interest organization and a report from a Swedish authority. The analysis was informed by Fairclough's critical discourse analysis and strived to pay attention to which discourses that were drawn upon, and how these discourses related to each other, and to a broader social context. The discussions on whether or not FASD should be actively diagnosed/ identified were structured by three main discourses. These were: a scientific discourse, a pragmatic discourse, and an ethical discourse, with the scientific discourse taking a special position, often being present also when other discourses were drawn upon. Taken together, there is not yet any consensus around what the status of the FASD conditions should be in Sweden, neither regarding the usefulness of diagnosing/identifying, nor regarding the causality between prenatal alcohol exposure and FASD.

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“…However, the major discourse of ADHD presented to the public is a biological, permanent genetic disorder of the brain best treated with medicine [71,55]. As a consequence, there is an increasing tendency to portray children as dysfunctional where the definition of normal behaviors in children has been reconstructed and narrowed [72]. There is a risk that parents, teachers and health professionals increasingly view children through this medical discourse of ADHD [50].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental Discussions Online through the Medical Discourse-lens

Lundin¹,

Erlandsson²

2017

J Child Dev Disord

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In the present study the research objective was to gain insights into parental communication on an open Internet forum where parents had the opportunity to discuss issues related to ADHD. In order for clinicians to help troubled children brought to the health clinic it may be important to learn more about the life situations of these troubled families as treatment options can require complex interventions for the whole family. Our aim was thus to go beyond the neurobiological medical model of ADHD, which does not take into account contextual factors. In today's society specialized online discussion forums are available for parents who seek support for various difficulties that arise in the family. The online forums are sources of research data. As research tools we used the narrative psychological approach for the analysis of 72 online narratives. These narratives provided support for that the parents embraced medical explanations for the difficulties experienced when raising children, despite obvious challenging life circumstances, such as for example being a single parent without social support. Even very young children had been given serious psychiatric medical diagnoses such as ADHD, Bipolar disorder, Mood disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Some of them had been diagnosed with more than one of these disorders. The complexity of the parental narratives in the present study indicates that the neurobiological model is not sufficient enough to form the basis of a personalized and comprehensive care for vulnerable families.

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A biased ADHD discourse ignores human uniqueness

Cited by 10 publications

References 25 publications

Is ADHD a way of conceptualizing long-term emotional stress and social disadvantage?

Is ADHD a way of conceptualizing long-term emotional stress and social disadvantage?

Is it FASD? And does it matter? Swedish perspectives on diagnosing fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Parental Discussions Online through the Medical Discourse-lens

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