ADHD, Socioeconomic Status, Medication Use, and Academic Ethic

ABSTRACT

This study examines the relationship between socioeconomic status and the likelihood of receiving medication for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and then addresses the embodiment of the “ideal student,” using the National Survey of Child’s Health. We find that the construction of the ideal student and parents’ higher income is correlated with higher odds of medication use for children and adolescents with ADHD. Furthermore, our results imply that structural inequalities in the current healthcare system increase the odds of upper-class children and adolescents receiving medication for ADHD. We find evidence that both severity of ADHD and younger ages increase the odds of receiving medication. We conclude with a discussion of the academic ethic, upper-class life, and future suggestions for research.

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to express their gratitude to Dr. Hayley Hamilton at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario.

Notes

¹ The categories used in the academic ethic variable are not proportional; therefore, a step from one category to another is not the same. This is further substantiated by calculating a “score test of proportional odds,” which tests this basic assumption of regression analysis. By dichotomizing the academic ethic variable, we are able to properly analyze the variable with all its covariates (Allison 1999).

² In the regression analyses, we did test a series of dummy variables for race with medication use. Since the results were substantively similar, we kept the race variable dichotomous for parsimony.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Zachary R. Simoni

Zachary R. Simoni is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Medical Sociology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His interests lie in medical sociology, sociology of mental health, and health disparities.

Patricia Drentea

Patricia Drentea is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. She is writing a book on families and aging. She conducts research on debt and mental health. She has recently published in Society and Mental Health, The Gerontologist, and the Journal of Family Issues. She may be reached at [email protected].