Tensions and Inattention: ADHD and Parenting Magazine Advice

• In Event: 2266 - Family Section Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 15. Innovative Qualitative Methods in Studying Families

Abstract

How are parents advised to manage and oversee children who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)? How is ADHD represented in popular parenting advice literature since the 1990s? Childhood ADHD diagnoses have increased sharply in North America in recent decades, and continue to rise. However, there has been significant concern over the ambiguity of ADHD symptoms, with some critics questioning whether ADHD is a medical condition or a socially constructed phenomenon. Previous analyses have outlined that ADHD is variously characterized in popular media as a medical problem, or a socio-cultural construct, with parents often implicated or blamed for children’s behaviour (Horton-Salway & Davies, 2018; Harwood et al., 2017). We examine how ADHD is portrayed in 141 articles published between 1994 and 2018 in Canada’s most popular parenting magazine: Today’s Parent. We find three prevalent themes: 1) ADHD is medicalized as a brain or mental health disorder, 2) schools are constructed as salient markers and indicators of ADHD, and 3) advice to parents is gendered. Parents are advised to see ADHD as a medical problem with severe implications for children’s lives. ADHD is seen as something to be prevented, and managed, particularly within academic settings. Finally, gender is a prominent theme: mothers are frequently depicted struggling to help their troubled sons. Girls are discussed one third of the time, when articles feature individual children and their difficulties with ADHD. Moreover, parents are offered advice about ADHD that varies according to whether they have sons or daughters. In conclusion, magazine advice prompts parents to consider giving their children prescription stimulants to empower children to achieve academic success and behavioral conformity.

Authors

• Rachel Hannah Meiorin, Wilfrid Laurier University

• Linda Quirke, Wilfrid Laurier University