Making Sense of ADHD: A Battle for Understanding? Parents' Views of Their Children Being Diagnosed with ADHD

Abstract

Much of the extensive body VLf research into attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has concentrated on understanding the aetiology of the disorder. This research has generated a number of very different conceptualizations of ADHD, ranging from purely medical descriptions to theories that incorporate a range of social and psychological factors. Although a large amount of research has been undertaken in this area, little is known about the individual experiences of those directly affected by the disorder and, in particular, how parents make sense of the variety of different aetiological models. The aim of this study was to investigate this issue. The mothers of nine boys, aged between 8 and 11 years, agreed to participate in the study. One father also participated. In-depth interviews, following a semi-structured format, were held with each participant. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a grounded theory approach. Data analysis revealed that the key issue for parents was the discrepancy in the way in which parents understood the causes of ADHD, as compared with the ways in which others viewed the disorder. Parents reported that they believed ADHD to be a biologically based disorder, but that they felt others considered the disorder to be related to psychological and social factors. The implications of these differing perspectives were as follows: (i) parents battled with professionals and family members to encourage them to share their views of the condition; (ii) parents felt blamed by professionals and family members for their sons' difficulties; and (iii) parents reported experiencing significant emotional distress as a result of the differing views.