Educational practitioners’ beliefs and conceptualisation about the cause of ADHD: A qualitative study

Abigail Emma Russell; Darren A. Moore; Tamsin Ford

doi:10.1080/13632752.2016.1139297

Educational practitioners’ beliefs and conceptualisation about the cause of ADHD: A qualitative study

Abigail Emma Russell^*, Darren A. Moore, Tamsin Ford

^*Corresponding author for this work

Bristol Medical School (PHS)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

339 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Objectives: Educational practitioners play an important role in the referral and treatment of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study aimed to explore how educational practitioners conceptualise their beliefs about the causes of symptoms of ADHD. Method: Forty-one educational practitioners from schools in the United Kingdom participated in focus groups or individual interviews. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Practitioners’ beliefs fell into two categories: biological and environmental. Practitioners conceptualised the causes of ADHD in lay-theoretical models: a ‘True’ ADHD model considered that symptoms of ADHD in many cases were due to adverse environments; and a model whereby a biological predisposition is the root of the cause of the child’s symptoms. Conclusion: Differential beliefs about the causes of ADHD may lead to practitioners blaming parents for a child’s behaviour and discounting ADHD as a valid condition. This has implications for the effective support of children with ADHD in schools.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	101-118
Number of pages	18
Journal	Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties
Volume	21
Issue number	1
Early online date	30 Jan 2016
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2016.1139297
Publication status	Published - Jan 2016

Keywords

ADHD
mental health
schools
teachers
theory

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10.1080/13632752.2016.1139297

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abstract = "Objectives: Educational practitioners play an important role in the referral and treatment of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study aimed to explore how educational practitioners conceptualise their beliefs about the causes of symptoms of ADHD. Method: Forty-one educational practitioners from schools in the United Kingdom participated in focus groups or individual interviews. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Practitioners{\textquoteright} beliefs fell into two categories: biological and environmental. Practitioners conceptualised the causes of ADHD in lay-theoretical models: a {\textquoteleft}True{\textquoteright} ADHD model considered that symptoms of ADHD in many cases were due to adverse environments; and a model whereby a biological predisposition is the root of the cause of the child{\textquoteright}s symptoms. Conclusion: Differential beliefs about the causes of ADHD may lead to practitioners blaming parents for a child{\textquoteright}s behaviour and discounting ADHD as a valid condition. This has implications for the effective support of children with ADHD in schools.",

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