The researchers analyzed data from 1,070 U.S. elementary school children who had previously displayed above-average behavioral, academic or executive functioning the year before their initial ADHD diagnoses.
The team said those children were considered unlikely to have ADHD by the researchers because children diagnosed and treated for ADHD should display chronically inattentive, hyperactive or impulsive behaviors that impair their functioning and result in below-average academic or social development.
A problem with ADHD overdiagnosis, Morgan said, is that it contributes to stigma and skepticism toward those experiencing more serious impairments.
“It undermines a confidence in the disorder,” he said. “If anyone can be diagnosed with ADHD, then what is ADHD? For those who have significant impairments, they may experience greater skepticism about the condition. Mental health resources are already scarce. Those with serious impairments could lose out.”
In addition, said Morgan, previous research has shown that among children with no or mild ADHD symptoms, being diagnosed with the disorder may result in lower academic achievement and behavioral problems during elementary school, perhaps because these children may be more likely to compare themselves with children without disabilities, and so adopt negative ability beliefs that interfere with their learning and behavior.
He added that overtreatment of ADHD unnecessarily exposes children to medication’s negative side effects, such as sleep problems or decreased appetites.
Read the full story online.