KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION ABOUT ADHD - EVIDENCE OF CULTURAL-DIFFERENCES AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND WHITE PARENTS

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is considered the most common child psychiatric disorder in the United States of America. De spite the high prevalence (estimated at 3-5%), little is known about t he level and source of knowledge about ADHD among those affected by th e disease, and about cultural and ethnic variations in knowledge level s and information sources. This represents a serious deficit, because health behavior, including demand for health services, is thought to b e strongly influenced by knowledge or beliefs held by individuals and their networks. Furthermore, recent research suggested minority childr en may be less likely to receive services for ADHD. To examine possibl e differences in ADHD knowledge and information source, a sample of 48 6 African-American and white parents of children at high risk for ADHD were surveyed by telephone and subsequently participated in face-to-f ace interviews addressing their explanatory models of ADHD. Results re vealed significant ethnic differences in knowledge and sources of info rmation about ADHD. Fewer African-American parents than white parents indicated that they had ever heard of ADHD (69% compared to 95%, P < 0 .001), or that they knew some or a lot about it (36% compared to 70%, P < 0.001) African-American parents were more likely to attribute ADHD to excessive sugar in the diet than whites (59% compared to 30.0%, P < 0.001). Finally, even though the physician was listed as the most pr eferred information source for both groups, only 17.5% of African-Amer ican parents reported they had received information about ADHD from th e physician compared to 29% of whites (P < 0.01). African American par ents reported less use of and less preference for written informationa l materials (newspapers, journals, library) than white parents. We con clude that substantially more research should be undertaken to examine the relationship between ethnicity and ADHD knowledge, to inform cult urally appropriate education campaigns and to improve access to servic es for this important treatable child mental health condition. (C) 199 8 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.