Prevalence of ADHD among Black Youth Compared to White, Latino and Asian Youth: A Meta-Analysis

ABSTRACT

Objective

To systematically review the prevalence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) among Black children and adolescents compared to White, Latino and Asian children and adolescents.

Method

Peer-reviewed articles were identified in seven databases and included if they reported prevalence of ADHD among Black children and adolescents living in a minority context and compared rates to at least one of White, Latino or Asian samples. A total of 7050 articles were retrieved and 155 articles were subjected to full evaluation. Twenty-three studies representing 26 independent samples were included.

Results

The pooled sample size was n = 218,445 (k = 26), n = 835,505 (k = 25), n = 493,417 (k = 24), and n = 66,413 (k = 7) of Black, White, Latino, and Asian participants, respectively. Pooled prevalence rate of ADHD was 15.9% (95%CI 11.6% – 20.7%) among Black children and adolescents, 16.6% (95%CI 11.6% – 22.2%) among Whites, 10.1% (95%CI 6.9% – 13.8%) among Latinos and 12.4% (95%CI 1.4% – 31.8%) among Asians. There was no significant difference in prevalence between ethnic groups, whereas both Black and White children and adolescents had marginally statistically significant higher prevalence than Asians. The results of a meta-regression analysis showed no moderating effects of the type of sample and the year of publication of studies. A significant publication bias was observed, suggesting that other moderators were not identified in the present systematic review.

Conclusion

In contrast to the assertion in the DSM-5 that clinical identification among Black children and adolescents is lower than among White children and adolescents, the present meta-analysis suggests similar rates of ADHD among these two groups. The importance of considering cultural appropriateness of assessment tools and processes is emphasized.

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Sunyoung Park (California Lutheran University) for her assistance during the analyses. Our thanks are extended to Saba Hajizadeh for project coordination.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Role of the Funder Sponsor

The PHAC had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Supplementary Material

Supplemental material for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2022.2051524.

Additional information

Funding

This article was supported by grant 1920-HQ-000053 from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/funding-opportunities.html