TY - JOUR
T1 - Lost in explanation
T2 - internal conflicts in the discourse of ADHD psychoeducation
AU - van Langen, Myrte J.M.
AU - Szőke, Rebeka
AU - Rijkelijkhuizen, Dominique N.J.
AU - Durston, Sarah
AU - van Hulst, Branko M.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors, but was made possible through funding for research positions by Dynamics of Youth strategic theme of Utrecht University.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/11/8
Y1 - 2022/11/8
N2 - Background: Psychiatric classifications are understood in many different ways. For children with ADHD and their parents, psychoeducation is an important source of information for shaping their understanding. Moreover, psychoeducation is often taken by children and parents to represent how their story is understood by the therapist. As a result, the way psychoeducation is formulated may affect the therapeutic alliance, one of the most robust mediators of treatment outcome. In addition, psychoeducation may indirectly influence the way we understand psychological differences as a society. Methods: To better understand how the classification ADHD is given meaning through psychoeducation, we analyzed 41 written psychoeducational materials from four different countries; the USA, UK, Netherlands and Hungary. Results: We identified five patterns of how the materials construct the discourse on ADHD. Notably, tension between biomedical and psychosocial perspectives resulted in conflict within a single thematic stance on ADHD as opposed to a conflict between parties with a different vision on ADHD. There were only few differences between countries in the way they constructed the discourse in the materials. Conclusions: These conflicts cause confusion, misrepresentation and decontextualization of ADHD. Ultimately, for those diagnosed with ADHD and their parents, conflicting information in psychoeducation materials may hamper their ability to understand themselves in the context of their difficulties.
AB - Background: Psychiatric classifications are understood in many different ways. For children with ADHD and their parents, psychoeducation is an important source of information for shaping their understanding. Moreover, psychoeducation is often taken by children and parents to represent how their story is understood by the therapist. As a result, the way psychoeducation is formulated may affect the therapeutic alliance, one of the most robust mediators of treatment outcome. In addition, psychoeducation may indirectly influence the way we understand psychological differences as a society. Methods: To better understand how the classification ADHD is given meaning through psychoeducation, we analyzed 41 written psychoeducational materials from four different countries; the USA, UK, Netherlands and Hungary. Results: We identified five patterns of how the materials construct the discourse on ADHD. Notably, tension between biomedical and psychosocial perspectives resulted in conflict within a single thematic stance on ADHD as opposed to a conflict between parties with a different vision on ADHD. There were only few differences between countries in the way they constructed the discourse in the materials. Conclusions: These conflicts cause confusion, misrepresentation and decontextualization of ADHD. Ultimately, for those diagnosed with ADHD and their parents, conflicting information in psychoeducation materials may hamper their ability to understand themselves in the context of their difficulties.
KW - ADHD
KW - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
KW - Discourse Analysis
KW - Psychoeducation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85141439624&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s12888-022-04327-x
DO - 10.1186/s12888-022-04327-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 36348316
AN - SCOPUS:85141439624
SN - 1471-244X
VL - 22
JO - BMC Psychiatry
JF - BMC Psychiatry
IS - 1
M1 - 690
ER -