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Description

Why and how did ADHD become the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder among children and adolescents, as well as one of the most controversial? Stimulant medication had been used to treat excessively hyperactive children since the 1950s. And the behaviors that today might lead to an ADHD diagnosis had been observed since the early 1930s as “organic drivenness,” and then by various other names throughout the decades.

The authors argue that a unique alignment of social and economic trends and incentives converged in the early 1990s with greater scientific knowledge to make ADHD the most prevalent pediatric mental disorder. New movements advocating for the rights of children and the disabled and a massive increase in Medicaid spending on psychotropic drugs all contributed to the dramatic spike in ADHD diagnoses and stimulant use.

Medicating Children is unique in that it integrates analyses of the clinical, political, historical, educational, social, economic, and legal aspects of ADHD and stimulant pharmacotherapy. Thus, it will be invaluable to educators, clinicians, parents, and policymakers, all of whom are trying to determine what is in the best interest of millions of children.

ISBN

9780674031630

Publication Date

2009

Publisher

Harvard University Press

City

Boston

Keywords

ADHD, stimulant medication, hyperactive children

School

School of Arts and Sciences

Department

Political Science

Disciplines

Health Policy | Political Science | Psychology

Comments

Listen to Podcasts@Boatwright and hear Dr. Catherine Bagwell, and Dr.Jennifer Erkulwater discuss Medicating Children: ADHD and Pediatric Mental Health.

Read the introduction to the book by clicking the Download button above.

[Introduction to] Medicating Children: ADHD and Pediatric Mental Health

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