The authors explored parents’ perceptions of and everyday experiences with the stimulant medication used to treat their child’s attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in this phenomenological study. They elicited experiences through semistructured interviews with 10 Canadian parents of children with ADHD. In the interviews, parents revealed the meaning the stimulant medication had taken on in the context of their everyday lives. Through the interview analysis, dilemma emerged as the dominant theme. Parents were caught in a dynamic balancing act, as they considered the medication’s desirable and undesirable effects in various settings. In addition, parents shared their expectations regarding the medication’s role in their child’s future. The study’s findings reinforce the necessity of further qualitative research in this area, given the growing number of families around the globe whose children have been diagnosed with ADHD.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
2.
Asmussen, L., Olson, L. M., & Sullivan, S. A. (1999). “You have to live it to understand it...”: Family experiences with chronic otitis media in children. Ambulatory Child Health, 5(4), 303-312.
3.
Breggin, P. (1998). Talking back to Ritalin: What doctors aren’t telling you about stimulants for children. Monroe, ME: Common Courage.
4.
Britten, N. (1996). Lay views of drugs and medicines: Orthodox and unorthodox accounts. In S. J. Williams & M. Calnan, (Eds.), Modern medicine: Lay perspectives and experiences (pp. 48-79). London: UCL.
5.
Britten, N., Stevenson, F., Garafanga, J., Barry, C., & Bradley, C. (2004). The expression of aversion to medicines in general practice consultations. Social Science and Medicine, 59, 1495-1503.
6.
Bussing, R., & Gary, F. A. (2001). Practice guidelines and parental ADHD treatment evaluations: Friends or foes? Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 9(5), 223-233.
7.
Bussing, R., Gary, F. A., Mills, T. L., & Garvan, C. W. (2003). Parental explanatory models of ADHD. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 38, 563-575.
8.
Cohen, N. J., & Thompson, L. (1982). Perceptions and attitudes of hyperactive children and their mothers regarding treatment with methylphenidate. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 27, 40-42.
9.
Conrad, P. (1985). The meaning of medications: Another look at compliance. Social Science and Medicine, 20(2), 29-37.
10.
Corkum, P., Rimer, P., & Schachar, R. (1999). Parental knowledge of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and opinions of treatment options: Impact on enrolment and adherence to a 12-month treatment trial. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 44, 1043-1048.
11.
Creswell, J. W. (1998). Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
12.
Diller, L. H. (1998). Running on Ritalin. New York: Bantam.
13.
Donovan, J. L., & Blake, D. R. (1992). Patient non-compliance: Deviance or reasoned decision-making? Social Science and Medicine, 34(5), 507-513.
14.
dosReis, S., Zito, J. M., Safer, D. J., Soeken, K. L., Mitchell, J. W., & Ellwood, L. C. (2003). Parental perceptions and satisfaction with stimulant medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 24(3), 155-162.
15.
Fallsberg, M. (1991). Reflections of medicines and medication: A qualitative analysis among people on long-term drug regimens. Linkoping, Sweden: Linkoping University.
16.
Firestone, P. (1982). Factors associated with children’s adherence to stimulant medication. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 52(3), 447-457.
17.
Gaviria, M. (Producer, Director), & Smith, M. (Producer). (2001). Medicating kids [Television broadcast, interview transcript]. Retrieved February 24, 2004, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/medicating/etc/script.html
18.
Goldman, L. S., Genel, M., Bezman, R. J., & Slanetz, P. J. (1998). Diagnosis and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents. Journal of the American Medical Association, 27(14), 1100-1107.
19.
Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1994). Competing paradigms in qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln, (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 105-117). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
20.
Hansen, E. H., & Launsø, L. (1988). Drugs and users: Problems and new directions. Health Promotion, 3(3), 241-248.
21.
International Narcotics Control Board. (2003). Psychotropic substances: Statistics for 2003, assessments of medical and scientific requirements for substances in Schedule II, III and IV. Retrieved March 16, 2005, from http://www.incb.org/e/ind_ar.htm
22.
Ivis, F. J., & Adlaf, E. M. (1999). Prevalence of methylphenidate use among adolescents in Ontario. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 90(5), 309-311.
23.
Klasen, H., & Goodman, R. (2000). Parents and GPs at cross-purposes over hyperactivity: A qualitative study of possible barriers to treatment. British Journal of General Practice, 50, 199-202.
24.
Knudsen, P., Hansen, E. H., Traulsen, J. M., & Eskildsen, K. (2002). Changes in self-concept while using SSRI antidepressants. Qualitative Health Research, 12, 932-944.
25.
Kvale, S. (1996). InterViews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
26.
Larsen, B. O., & Hansen, E. H. (1985). The active medicine user. Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care, 3, 55-59.
27.
Lui, C., Robin, A. L., Brenner, S., & Eastman, J. (1991). Social acceptability of methylphenidate and behavior modification for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Pediatrics, 88(3), 560-565.
28.
Malacrida, C. (2004). Medicalization, ambivalence and social control: Mothers’ descriptions of educators and ADD/ADHD. Health, 8(1), 61-80.
29.
Marshall, G. (Ed.). (1998). Oxford dictionary of sociology (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
30.
McNeal, R. E., Roberts, M. C., & Barone, V. J. (2000). Mothers’ and children’s perceptions of medication for children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 30(3), 173-187.
31.
Mellor, D. J., Storer, S. P., & Brown, J. (1996). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Perceptions, practice and politics. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 32, 218-222.
32.
Miller, A. R., Lalonde, C. E., McGrail, K. M., & Armstrong, R. W. (2001). Prescription of methylphenidate to children and youth, 1990-96. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 165(11), 1489-1493.
33.
Pelchat, D., Lefebvre, H., & Perreault, M. (2003). Differences and similarities between mothers’ and fathers’ experiences of parenting a child with a disability. Journal of Child Health Care, 7(4), 231-247.
34.
Peterson-Sweeney, K., McMullen, A., Yoos, L., & Kitzman, H. (2003). Parental perceptions of their child’s asthma: Management and medication use. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 17(3), 118-125.
35.
Petersson, C., Petersson, K., & Hakansson, A. (2003). General parental education in Sweden: Participants and non-participants. Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care, 21(1), 43-46.
36.
Pollio, H. R., Henley, T. B., & Thompson, C. J. (1997). The phenomenology of everyday life. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
37.
Pound, P., Britten, N., Morgan, M., Yardley, L., Pope, C., Daker-White, G., et al. (2005). Resisting medicines: A synthesis of qualitative studies of medicine taking. Social Science and Medicine, 61(1), 133-155.
38.
Riddle, M. A., Labellarte, M. J., & Walkup, J. T. (1998). Pediatric psychopharmacology: Problems and prospects. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 8(2), 87-97.
39.
Safer, D. J., Zito, J. M., & Fine, E. M. (1996). Increased methylphenidate usage for attention deficit disorder in the 1990s. Pediatrics, 98(6), 1084-1088.
40.
Schutz, A. (1970). On phenomenology and social relations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
41.
Singh, I. (2003). Boys will be boys: Fathers’ perspectives on ADHD symptoms, diagnosis, and drug treatment. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 11(6), 308-316.
42.
Singh, I. (2004). Doing their jobs: Mothering with Ritalin in a culture of mother-blame. Social Science and Medicine, 59, 1193-1205.
43.
Thiruchelvam, D., Charach, A., & Schachar, R. (2001). Moderators and mediators of long-term adherence to stimulant treatment in children with ADHD. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40(8), 922-928.
44.
Waxmonsky, J. G. (2005). Nonstimulant therapies for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adults. Essential Psychopharmacology, 6(5), 262-276.
45.
Williams, C., Wright, B., & Partridge, I. (1999). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A review. British Journal of General Practice, 49(444), 563-571.
