We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Health

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

How Common is ADHD in Children?

Tricia Christensen
By
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 6,113
Share

The issue of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD in children is an exceptionally complicated one. There are those who believe ADHD is routinely overdiagnosed leading to the medication of children who do not require it. At the same time, others worry that too few children receive needed diagnosis, based on statistical evidence. In fact, both concerns have a certain truth-value, often having to do with socioeconomic circumstances, but even with this information deriving a percentage of children who actually have ADHD is rather difficult.

First, ADHD in children is not diagnosed in all countries, and mostly gains recognition in the developed areas of the world. In these areas, and especially in places like the US, percentages of children with this condition range in appraisal. Some believe ADHD in children occurs in about 3-5% of the population and others suggest the percentage is higher and approximately 7% of kids will be diagnosed with the disorder during childhood. This latter statistic bears some scrutiny since there is misdiagnosis of ADHD in children, and the statistic does not fully take this into account.

Whether ADHD in children occurs at 3% or 7%, there are other calculations that need to be considered. One of these in the US is that Caucasian children are much more likely to be medicated for the disorder, even if they don’t have it. Overmedication or inappropriate diagnosis seems more common. At the same time in the US, certain populations are less likely to get the treatment they need, especially kids of African American descent. This is partially explained by lower socioeconomic status and less access to medical treatment.

It’s easy to see then that there can be overdiagnosis and underdiagnosis at the same time. This means some children are being treated who shouldn’t be, and this justifies the opinion that diagnosis of ADHD in children is being overused. Yet, depending on population, diagnosis is also being underused.

There are other statistics on ADHD in children to evaluate. For instance, roughly 75% of ADHD cases occur in boys. This does not mean the condition is exclusive to males, but given prevalence of boy diagnosis, the disorder might be less suspect in girls. The idea of overdiagnosis can be considered in this light too, since boys tend to be less attentive and more energetic than girls. They have a much higher expected rate of misbehavior and attentional difficulties in early school years. With increases in school hours, such as to full day kindergarten, the condition may be suspected sooner, though a full evaluation should look at behavior over a several year span.

Perhaps the most important thing to consider is that it is not possible to make a casual diagnosis of ADHD. No matter how common the disorder is in kids, and no matter how likely or unlikely the disease seems in one child, real observation and diagnosis should be undertaken to determine if an individual child has ADHD. Even if a child’s behavior seems like ADHD or doesn’t, parents should suspend judgment until they get an evaluation from an appropriate source, if recommended or desired. It’s also worth noting that there are other conditions that may look like this disorder, but require completely different management strategies.

Share
WiseGeek is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Tricia Christensen
By Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a WiseGeek contributor, Tricia Christensen is based in Northern California and brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her writing. Her wide-ranging interests include reading, writing, medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion, all of which she incorporates into her informative articles. Tricia is currently working on her first novel.

Editors' Picks

Discussion Comments
By bear78 — On Mar 18, 2011

I think that adhd is really common. My daughter had a few symptoms similar to adhd but the doctor diagnosed her to be normal and healthy. The doctor had an assessment chart with a long list of items that test adhd. He did several different exercises with my daughter and spoke to her and us to find out the details. It really was an extensive list, I think about 70 questions and if more than 20 of the symptoms exist, the child is said to have a tendency towards adhd.

I was really happy and content with the doctor's techniques and analysis and I think that if all doctors are the same, adhd should not be over diagnosed. If many children are being diagnosed with it, then, I think that it really most be a common disorder among children.

By turquoise — On Mar 17, 2011

This is interesting. I wonder if the prevalence of adhd diagnosis in Western developed countries hints at some cultural differences? Or maybe it just means that in the West, parents have greater understanding of this disorder and also more means to look into it and deal with it?

My family moved to the U.S. when I was in grade school. I heard about adhd for the first time here, as quite a few of my friends in grade school were diagnosed with adhd and took medication. But the whole concept did not make much sense to me. The male peers who were being treated with adhd did not act much differently than my brother. He also had a very short attention span (still does) and was extremely active as a child, but these characteristics are common, in fact expected qualities of a male child in our culture.

My parents never even thought that something was wrong with my brother. Despite his inability to pay attention for a long period of time, my brother never had any problems in school because he is really smart. I hear a lot of parents who have kids diagnosed with adhd say the same thing- that their kids are really intelligent but just can't pay attention.

Could this be an oversensitivity on the part of Western parents? Or maybe the cultural expectation that kids should behave in a certain way is causing parents and doctors in developed countries to consider these differences in behavior as abnormal?

At the same time, I'm sure that many children in developing countries who really have adhd are not receiving any attention or patience from their parents. In developed nations, parents try to help their kids reach the same levels and success as their contemporaries, whereas in developing countries; there seems to be a tendency to label some children as "unintelligent" or "incapable" and accept this to be the child's destiny or fate.

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a WiseGeek contributor, Tricia...
Learn more
Share
https://www.wisegeek.net/how-common-is-adhd-in-children.htm
Copy this link
WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.