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ADHD Behavioral Rating Scales and the Social Construction of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
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ADHD Behavioral Rating Scales
and the
Social Construction of Childhood Hyperactivity
John Moss, Ph.D. Candidate
UCSC Sociology Department
Abstract
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (or ADHD) is a mental illness that in 2003,
affected approximately one out of every 13 children in the United States between the ages
of 4 and 17. Measuring childhood behavior with ADHD rating scales is one form of
evidence clinicians use to determine whether a child warrants a diagnosis of ADHD.
Because of this, knowing more about these scales is critical for understanding how ADHD
is socially constructed. In this paper, I analyze nine of these scales using three research
questions: Are these rating scales valid measurements? What is the normative childhood
behavior that these scales assume? What functions do these scales serve the people who
use them? I argue that these scales are not valid according to the basic tenets of statistical
logic and that these scales are biased towards finding ADHD in the children the scales
target. These scales also assume that children should be compliant to all adult commands,
that children should not move their bodies unless it is for a purpose, that they should be
productive workers and that they should have a harmonious relationship with peers. I find
that these scales function to identify the disruptions that children cause in institutions in
order to enable goal-oriented activities to be more easily accomplished in the settings in
which they are used. Further directions for research are also suggested.
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ADHD Behavioral Rating Scales
and the
Social Construction of Childhood Hyperactivity
John Moss, Ph.D. Candidate
UCSC Sociology Department
Abstract
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (or ADHD) is a mental illness that in 2003, affected approximately one out of every 13 children in the United States between the ages of 4 and 17. Measuring childhood behavior with ADHD rating scales is one form of evidence clinicians use to determine whether a child warrants a diagnosis of ADHD. Because of this, knowing more about these scales is critical for understanding how ADHD is socially constructed. In this paper, I analyze nine of these scales using three research questions: Are these rating scales valid measurements? What is the normative childhood behavior that these scales assume? What functions do these scales serve the people who use them? I argue that these scales are not valid according to the basic tenets of statistical logic and that these scales are biased towards finding ADHD in the children the scales target. These scales also assume that children should be compliant to all adult commands, that children should not move their bodies unless it is for a purpose, that they should be productive workers and that they should have a harmonious relationship with peers. I find that these scales function to identify the disruptions that children cause in institutions in order to enable goal-oriented activities to be more easily accomplished in the settings in which they are used. Further directions for research are also suggested.
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