Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - Essay Example

ADHD, A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT By ADHD, a Social and Behavioral Construct? Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurobehavioral disorder characterized by inattention, increased motor activity, and impulsiveness more so in children and young adolescents (Mohundro & Wicker, 2010, p. 318). This therefore implies that ADHD regularly has an intense effect on the personal, social and academic development of children and young adolescents and can thus be a risky factor in the development of other comorbid ailments. Concurrently, Barkley points out that about “3% to 5% of school age children” are estimated to have been affected by ADHD (qtd. in Brown, 2000, p. 195). This statistic shows how prevalent ADHD has become more so among school age children. According to Neophytou, there is absolutely no medical test that children can partake to determine whether or not they have ADHD (2004, P.6). Due to this fact therefore, it can be argued that the experiences of ADHD among children are socially influenced and constructed as opposed to being mental health constructs. It is therefore of vital importance to determine whether the ADHD disorder is a mental health construct or merely a social and behavioral construct. First, in order to ascertain whether ADHD illness is more of a social and behavioral construct as opposed to a mental health construct, we shall employ the use of the ADHD Social Construct Theory. The Social Construct Theory tends to explain that the Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and ADHD are usually not a genetic, mental or medical disorders, but instead, they can be well illustrated by environmental and social factors. The Social Construct Theory therefore points out that the observed behaviors in children diagnosed with ADHD are not anomalous, but normal behavior brought up by the sociological structures surrounding these children. This theory also argues that it is the environmental factors that cause these extreme reactions such as hypersensitivity, impulsiveness and inactiveness. The theory suggests that factors such as overloaded living conditions that had insufficient playing and relaxing space, increased school work and burdensome curriculum activities, and the day to day stress that parents usually go through are among the factors that influenced and increases the number of children with ADHD dis orders. For instance, today’s educational setting subject young children and adolescents to long hours of class study learning and listening to concepts that they find rather uninteresting thereby leading them to behave abnormally. According to Vallee, ADHD only became problematic after the Industrial Revolution (2009, p. 4). This is because, there were many social and environmental changes after the Industrial Revolutions that perpetuated ADHD among children. Therefore, many children who are subjected to environments which are unhealthy and unsocial will result into conditions of impatience and a disorders. Usually, different societies and cultures partake different prospects of behavior that seem anomalous among children. For instance, in American schools, many teachers have developed xenophobic attitude towards children who have developed ADHD disorders. Comparatively other cultures more so in African countries, perceive children with hyperactivity as merely “active children,” and in fact, they view this as a healthy behavior as opposed to a disorder. Equally important, various societies and cultures have relatively developed different parental structures and styles. For instance, whereas parental structures are usually more child centered and place more awareness in Northern Europe and Holland respectively, the parents in America are usually stressful and demanding. In addition, parents from Holland usually places emphasis of the self-regulation, awareness of their children’s stimulation and they make sure that their children are not subjected to excess stimulation and get enough sleep unlike the parents from America. Comparatively, different schools in different nations have different social environments which therefore expedite the accommodation of different children therefore making the children to behave differently. For instance, many westernized countries schools have school and curriculum structures that even allow free movement in class, thereby making children to become free with their teachers thus reducing the rate at which ADHD affects these children. In addition, the advocates of the ADHD Social Construct Theory contend that whereas various genetic factors could play huge roles more so in behavioral difficulties in some of the children that have been diagnosed with ADHD, the main problems still remain in the poor school systems, which have largely been unsuccessful in integrating to the expectations of the society. As much as various theories have tried to explain the causes of ADHD in small children and young adolescents, whereas others theories have tried to explain the associated resultant side effects, there is absolutely no single clear account that ADHD is a psychiatric construct. Simply put, ADHD is just but a behavior and social construct as opposed to a mental or medicinal construct. Over the last decade, there has been a drastic increase in the number of children that have been diagnosed with ADHD (Neophytou, 2004, p. 7). This has led to the extensive treatment of the children and young adolescents with various stimulant medications by the medical practitioners. Usually, a large number of parents anticipate that when their children are diagnosed with ADHD, they can be subjected to medical prescription and their inattention, increased motor activity, and impulsiveness among other behavioral difficulties will largely be eliminated. Contrary to their anticipation, most parents continually experience difficulties not only with their unimproved children’s behavior but also from the criticisms accompanying their parenting capabilities (Neophytou, 2004, p. 7). The medicalization of ADHD therefore does not improve the child’s behavior but instead it increases the social stigma of not only the child but the entire family as well. Furthermore, the medical perspective of understanding the ADHD disorder does not seem to appropriately explicate and clarify the ever continuing behavioral difficulties experienced by the children and parents even after diagnosis and medical examination of the children. Although Brown points out that medicalization of ADHD can result to improved attentiveness and decreased overreaction and impulsion among children (2000, p. 99), it is worth noting that it does not improve positive or appropriate behavior among the diagnosed children (Swanson, Christian, McBurnett & Wigal, 1995, p. 272). Therefore, in as much as some children with extreme behavioral difficulties can have psychiatric ailments that can be appropriately be eliminated using medical prescriptions, many children with ADHD do not fit into this group. In addition, ADHD has largely been linked with multiple comorbid disorders, specifically those which are of a psychiatric origination (Moll et al., 2001, p. 18). Subjecting the children diagnosed with ADHD to medical treatment can thus be more destructive than beneficial. It is therefore appropriate that the children with ADHD symptoms be subjected to appropriate sociological remedial context in order to reduce their behavioral difficulties, since ADHD is a social construct as opposed to a medical one. Frequently, many parents and individuals have wondered if the medicalization of ADHD is therapeutically useful. Quite contrary, Timimi and Taylor point out that medicalization of this disorder only offers a decontextualized and naive idea that leads the parents to ignore their social responsibility of raising their diagnosed children appropriately (2004, p. 8-9). Most parents and individuals therefore fall into the trap of subjecting and exposing children into medical treatment that will be of absolutely no benefit. The prescription and administering of medicine to the children with ADHD can therefore be looked at as a way of simply increasing the profit margins of the pharmaceutical industry. In fact, many parents and doctors usually act as representatives of social control thereby inhibiting diversity and growth in children. Additively, Timimi points out that subjecting children with ADHD disorders to extremely addictive drugs such as Ritalin and Dexedrine might have dangerous side effects (2002, para. 6). Moreover, this fact is also echoed by Sproson et al., who points out that animals study have shown that some of these medicines can have “brain disabling effects” (2001, p. 68-69). This act victimizes not only a big percentage of children with ADHD, but also their families and their families. Therefore, by conceptualizing ADHD disorders as therapeutically caused, medical practitioners end up offering medical and therapeutic drugs are unnecessary and could result to even further problems. Parents should cease from creating needless dependence on medical practitioners and instead encourage themselves in using sociological ways in the attempt of eliminating the behavioral difficulties of their children. Equally important, in order to elucidate the current rise of children that are diagnosed with ADHD, a social perspective is inevitable. For instance, even though child immaturity is usually a biological and natural fact, Breggin argues that the ways of understanding and making this immaturity meaningful is nothing but a social fact (2002, p. 16). This therefore implies that the mental health of children with ADHD and their families is largely determined by the sociological factors. Some of these societal or sociological factors could include excessive pressure from school and curriculum activities, lack of proper moral authority from adults and role models, lack of needed family support, bad market economy which favors individuality, lack of proper parenting and “mother blame” which makes the society look at the mothers as the people that are responsible for the well-being of their children (Prout & James, 1997, p. 29). Parents and families of children with ADHD ailments should therefore ignore the profit intended pharmaceutical industry and focus themselves on sociological and cultural remedial strategies since ADHD is more of a social construct than a therapeutic or medicinal one. Comparatively, in order to determine the ideal way of dealing with ADHD disorder, it is important for one to recognize the significance of the interrelationships between the children and adolescents with this disorder and the social structures in which they live. According to Sayal et al., many issues that are faced by parents, families and children affected by ADHD are not only defined “in psychological terms,” but broadly in terms of the social structures as well (2002, p. 45-46). Therefore, when one examines issues facing families and children who have been diagnosed with the ADHD disorder, an extensive social framework should be put into consideration so as to determine the social factors that that could be affecting these children and families. According to Meltzer et al., experiences that children have in school, impacts of “powerful social discourses” on parents and children, and negative reactions of extended family members could largely and negatively affect the parents and children with ADHD (2000, p. 326). Therefore, the people that are closer to the children diagnosed with ADHD are of great importance in treating this disorder, since they are the one who have the valuable information on the day to day activities and experiences of these children. Thus, proper information on ADHD cannot be found on medical and pharmaceutical knowledge, but rather on the social structures in which these children live in. In addition, it is highly possible that sociological factors do play a huge role in influencing the increase in hyperactivity among children diagnosed with ADHD, which is always observed to be a problem. For instance, most children, although it can be argued that they sometimes try, do not regularly seek help from each other since they are usually dependent upon parents and adults to dictate their well-being. Schachar and Tannock contend that families, educational centers, curriculums and cultures relatively vary in the tolerance of children with ADHD (2002, p. 409). For instance, Taylor et al. states that an epidemiological study was carried out in both Hong Kong and London using same parameters, however, the study found out that there was a high rate of hyperactivity in Hong Kong as compared to London (1991, p. 63). This therefore shows that the social environment of children can influence their level of hyper activeness and thus ultimately affect their social interaction. This therefore show that ADHD ailment is not a mental construct, but rather a behavioral and social one. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD, therefore purports that cases of inattention, increased motor activity, and impulsiveness and hyperactivity disorders that are common among little children and young adolescents are not essentially a definite pathology but rather a behavioral and social construct. Parents of children diagnosed with ADHD should therefore decease from seeking psychiatric and therapeutic acts but they should rather use social structures and behavioral remedial strategies so as to reduce the behavioral difficulties of their children. Therefore, it is beyond doubt that ADHD disorder is not a mental health construct but simply a social and behavioral construct. References Barkley, R. A., Cook, E. H. Jr, Diamond, A., et al. (2002) International Consensus Statement on ADHD. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 5, 89– 111. Breggin, P. (2002). The Ritalin Fact Book. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing. Brown, M. B. (2000). Diagnosis and treatment of children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Counseling and Development: JCD, 78(2), 195-203. Meltzer, H., Gatward, R., Goodman, R., et al (2000). Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in Great Britain. London: Stationery Office. Mohundro, L., & Wicker, Ann (2010). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: More than a childs disease. Formulary, 45(10), 318-327. Retrieved from Moll, G., Hause, S., Ruther, E., et al (2001). Early methylphenidate administration to young rats causes a persistent reduction in the density of striatal dopamine transporters. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 11, p. 15– 24. Neophytou, K. (2004). ADHD a Social Construct? Australian Catholic University: Victoria. Prout, A. & James, A. (1997). Constructing and Reconstructing Childhood: Contemporary Issues in the Sociological Study of Childhood. London: Falmer Press. Sayal, K., Taylor, E., Beecham, J., et al (2002). Pathways to care in children at risk of attention-deficit deficit hyperactivity disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry, 181, 43– 48. Schachar, R. & Tannock, R. (2002). Syndromes of hyperactivity and attention deficit in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Oxford: Blackwell. p. 399– 418. Sproson, J., Chantrey, J., Hollis, C., et al (2001). Effect of repeated methylphenidate administration on presynaptic dopamine and behavior in young adult rats. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 15, 67– 75. Swanson, J., McBurnett, K., Christian D., & Wigal T. (1995). Stimulant medication and the treatment of children with ADHD. Advances in Clinical Child Psychology, 17, p. 265-322. Taylor, E., Chadwick, O., Heptinstall, E., et al (1996). Hyperactivity and conduct problems as risk factors for adolescent development. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 1213– 1226. Taylor, E., Sandberg, S., Thorley, G., et al (1991). The Epidemiology of Childhood Hyperactivity. Maudsley Monograph No. 33. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Timimi, S. (2002). Pathological Child Psychiatry and the Medicalization of Childhood. Hove: Brunner-Routledge. Timimi, S., & Taylor, Eric (2004). ADHD is best understood as a cultural construct. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 184, p. 8-9 Vallee, M. (2009). ADHD: Biological Disease or Psychosocial Disorder? University of California. Read More