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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder case
The effects of ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder case
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Thesis statement: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is social construct rather than mental disorder.
Information gather by cross-cultural studies shows that rate ADHD vary greatly between different countries and how they view symptoms of ADHD. Based these studies there is no concrete evidence that shows there is clinical brain abnormalities related to ADHD. On the other hand, there is no formal treatment for people who has ADHD besides methylphenidate. In addition, methylidene is debated treatment because it has the same effect on normal children (Timimi and Taylor, 2003).
The epidemic rise of ADHD can reflect on social construct. In general, society defines what a disorder by the number of symptoms. Furthermore, “the fact
that a group of symptoms has a constant geographic prevalence has little to do with what leads these symptoms to be considered a diagnostic entity” (Chamberlain and Heyman, 2007). This means society describes symptoms base on social norms and not the common symptoms people suffer in specific area. When researching the rates of consumption of methylphenidate America rate higher compare to Australia, Chile, and Spain. This can reflect on the cultural differences within each country (Chamberlain and Heyman, 2007). Psychiatrists diagnose psychiatric disorders base on the criteria of their country. For example, America use DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition), whereas France use ICD-10 ( International Classification of Diseases 10th edition) to determine psychiatric disorders. In the ICD-10 there no recognition ADHD exists oppose to DSM-5. Therefore, America have higher rates of ADHD compare to France because they do not have (Baker,2013). Thus, it difficult to say which rather or not DSM and ICD are useful to diagnose ADHD patients. Due to the fact, DSM has lower criteria in labeling disorders unlike ICM which has higher criteria. For ADHD, not to resemble a social construct, there need to be a global understanding of its symptoms (Chamberlain and Heyman, 2007).