Racial/ethnic disparities in ADHD diagnosis

UNIVERSITY PARK - A study by Paul Morgan, associate professor of special education, and his colleagues Marianne Hillemeier, George Farkas and Steve Maczuga indicates that black children and children in homes where a language other than English is being spoken are less likely to receive an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis by school entry, despite being otherwise similar to white children on many measured background characteristics. The findings indicate that disparities in ADHD diagnosis begin to occur very early in children's school careers. The study, "Racial/Ethnic Disparities in ADHD Diagnosis by Kindergarten Entry," is now available in early view of the online version of The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. It will be included in an upcoming printed edition of the journal. This study extends findings from Morgan's previous ADHD research published in the July 2013 issue of Pediatrics. "We were interested in evaluating whether the disparities observed across elementary and middle school in our earlier study were evident as early as the fall of kindergarten, accounting for many factors measured prior to the children entering school," Morgan said. "Whether these disparities extend to Hispanic children has also been unclear.