Social Epidemiology Of ADHD in the USA - Term Paper Example

It is characterised by inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity conditions and is first evident in children. Global statistics depicts a threefold rise in medication of ADHD, which implies that the disease is on the rise also. In particular, US spent about $2.3 billion on this disease, which is nine times higher than the spending for the same in the year 1993. This paper is a discussion on the existing incidences of ADHD and the prevalent groups in the USA. Prevalent Groups ADHD is a disease prevalent in USA as in any other part of the world.

Although many think that ADHD is prevalent in America because of some of their cultural and social factors, research has shown that ADHD is common to children of different races, tribes, and societies worldwide but its non-recognition in the medical field reduces its popularity elsewhere (Faraone et al 104-109). ADHD disease takes a non-random distribution pattern among people of different ages, genders, geographic regions, economic status, race, and family structures. Age ADHD is more prevalent in children.

World Psychiatry journal states that in the USA 1 in 20 children has this behaviour problem. Study has shown that 80% of children with ADHD may carry the problem into adolescence and adulthood (Faraone et al 105-111). Assuming this is true means that we have less cases of ADHD in adolescence and in adulthood, and thus the disease is more prevalent in childhood. According to Vital and Health Statistics as quoted in the National Resource Centre on ADHD website, children of the age three- to- seventeen years give high scores of ADHD.

For instance, 5 million children, who are equivalent to 9% of this group, have ADHD (National Resource Centre on ADHD Web). Adults report a lesser percentage ranging from 4% to 4.4% in the US. Gender Among the children of three-to- seventeen years, boys emerge with a greater percentage of cases of ADHD. This means that ADHD is more prevalent in boys than in girls. According to Vital and Health Statistics as quoted in National Resource Centre on ADHD website, boy’s cases of ADHD are more than twice that of the girl’s: boys recording 12% and girls 5% (Pastor and Reuben 1-3).

Family Structure ADHD is also a disease which prevalence depends on a family structure. Parental guidance and care seem to be core values that shape the mind of a child and prevent them from hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention. This is because there is a big variation in the manner the disease is distributed in the families with both parents, with one parent of either gender and with no parent at all. Research has shown that families with no parent report the highest cases of ADHD, probably because of stress the children have to go through.

According to CDC statistics, a family with a father and a mother records 7.3 % of ADHD cases, that with a mother and no father 11.1% cases, that with a father and no mother 8.7%, and lastly the family with neither parents records the highest with 15.37%. This clearly indicates that parental upbringing is the key in the prevention of ADHD cases (Bloom, Cohen 19-24) Race and Ethnic Groups ADHD prevalence trends vary in race and ethnicity, as per the 1998-through-2000 research. Some studies carried out depict that Mexican children have a lower ADHD prevalence than any other racial group in USA.

According to Tsuang et al, a study carried out to detect