Time spent with children and working parents’ willingness to medicate ADHD-like behaviors

How much time parents spend with their children is likely to influence their judgments of children’s behaviors and the behaviors themselves. In the diagnosis of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), parents are key informants and decide whether their children should receive medication. This exploratory study investigates the relationship between working parents’ willingness to medicate ADHD-like behaviors and the time they can spend with their children during a regular workday. The participants (409 parents of 5- to 17- year-old children reporting having no child with emotional or behavioral problems and 87 reporting having such a child) were drawn from a population-based telephone survey of parents stratified by race and ethnicity in two urban Florida counties. Path analysis models, controlling for selected sociodemographic and household variables, showed that spending more time with one’s children during a regular workday and self-identifying as African American were negatively related to willingness to medicate among parents of children with problems. Among parents reporting no children with problems, only the number of children in the household and the parenttype household showed relationships to willingness to medicate, while mothers were more likely than fathers to spend more time with children. These observed relationships were of moderate effect but underscore the importance to initiate studies using valid measures of quantity and quality of parental time spent with ADHD children, and to query parents on these points when assessing the information they provide to clinicians

The problem with ADHD: Researchers\u27 Constructions and Parents\u27 Accounts

An enduring controversy over the nature of ADHD complicates parents’ decisions regarding children likely to be diagnosed with the condition. Using a fallibilist perspective, this review examines how researchers construe ADHD and acknowledge the controversy. From a systematic literature search of empirical reports using parents of ADHD-diagnosed children as primary informants, 36 reports published between 1996 and 2008 (corresponding to 30 studies) were selected. Data on the studies’ characteristics and methodologies, definitions of ADHD, and extent of the acknowledgment of the ADHD controversy were extracted, as were data on a wide range of parental concerns and experiences. Researchers in 27 of 30 studies define ADHD as a valid disorder, in 22 studies they tend to recommend parental adherence to the biomedical view, and in eight studies they specifically acknowledge an ADHD controversy. This body of studies reports varied and poignant observations on parents’ situations and dilemmas. Still, it largely reflects a Western-ethnocentric view and appears greatly preoccupied with parents who do not medicate their children, ignoring parents’ rationales for using medications

A comparative review of “how to” books for parents of ADHD children and “how to” books for parents of typical children

Although an increasing number of children are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and take medications to control their behaviors, a well-publicized controversy persists about whether ADHD refers to a common neurobehavioral disorder of childhood or to various medicalized temperamental, educational, and cultural differences and difficulties of children. Moreover, behaviors indicative of ADHD are commonly found among all children—although with different frequencies. This paper aims to identify and compare the type of information provided to parents of ADHD and non-ADHD diagnosed children through readily available self-help books. Searches using popular online bookstores were conducted to rank and select the ten most popular self-help books for parents of ADHD diagnosed children and those of typical children, from which relevant information was systematically extracted. We conclude that the information provided for these two sets of parents was substantially different, if not opposites, but children\u27s behaviors were similarly portrayed

Time spent with children and working parents\u27 willingness to medicate ADHD-like behaviors

ADHD, which refers to one of the most common behavioral problems among children, is subject to controversial arguments surrounding its nature and its primary treatment with psychiatric medications. At the heart of the problem are parents, whose responsibility includes providing pivotal information to clinicians for the diagnosis and deciding whether their children will receive medications. This study investigates the relationship between working parents\u27 willingness to medicate ADHD-like behaviors and the time they are able to spend with their children during a regular workday. The importance of time spent with children derives from the observation that it is likely to influence not only parents\u27 judgments of their children\u27s behaviors but the behaviors themselves. The relationship was investigated using a subsample of 551 working parents (452 parents reporting no child with problems and 99 parents reporting child with problems) drawn from a population-based telephone survey of parents in the Miami-Dade and Broward counties of Florida. A series of path analyses, controlling for selected socio-demographic and family variables, showed that spending more time with their children during a regular workday was significantly related to being less willing to medicate ADHD-like behaviors. The association was stronger for parents reporting having a child with emotional and behavioral problems (β = −.20) and faint for other parents (β = −.06). The interpretation of the study findings emphasizes the vagueness surrounding the nature of ADHD and the events and procedures leading to the diagnosing of a child, as well as the delicate situations in which parents find themselves

Introduction to Research Methods: A Hands-On Approach

A conversational and jargon-free writing style brings the relevance of research to life. Research in Action features illustrate real, annotated research examples, giving students the skills to read and interpret research they may encounter in their everyday lives. Research Workshop features offer step-by-step help on practical topics that extend beyond the chapter to provide hands-on tips for students conducting their own research. Ethical considerations within each chapter address different aspects of research to emphasize ethics as an integral part of the research conversation. Chapter pedagogy includes summaries, key terms, photos, and “Taking It a Step Further” questions to extend understanding and application of text concepts