Caregiver-Attributed Etiologies of Children’s Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Study in Taiwan

Wen-Jiun Chou, Tai-Ling Liu, Ray C. Hsiao, Yu-Min Chen, Chih-Cheng Chang and Cheng-Fang Yen
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Wen-Jiun Chou: College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan
Tai-Ling Liu: Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan
Ray C. Hsiao: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195-6560, USA
Yu-Min Chen: Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan
Chih-Cheng Chang: Department of Psychiatry, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan 70246, Taiwan
Cheng-Fang Yen: Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: The aim of this survey study was to examine the etiologies of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) attributed by caregivers of Taiwanese children with ADHD, particularly factors affecting such attribution. This study had 400 caregivers of children with ADHD as participants. We examined the caregiver-attributed etiologies of ADHD and factors affecting such attribution. Caregivers completed the self-report questionnaire to rate how likely they perceived various etiologies of ADHD to be; the Affiliate Stigma Scale for the level of affiliate stigma; and the short Chinese version of the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham, Version IV Scale for child’s ADHD and oppositional symptoms. Brain dysfunction (84.8%) was the most commonly attributed etiology, followed by failure of caregivers in disciplining the child (44.0%); a poor diet, such as a sugar-rich diet (40.8%); a poor living environment (38.8%); the child imitating their peers’ improper behavior (37.3%); failure of school staff in disciplining the child (29.0%); the education system’s overemphasis on academic performance (27.3%); and supernatural beings or divination-based reasons (3.8%). Caregivers’ affiliate stigma was significantly associated with the attribution of several nonbiological etiologies other than brain dysfunction. Caregivers’ education level and children’s sex, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and oppositional symptoms were significantly associated with various caregiver-attributed etiologies. Therefore, to deliver more accurate knowledge about ADHD in educational programs, health professionals should consider those etiologies that are attributed by caregivers of children with ADHD.

Keywords: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; caregivers; etiology; affiliate stigma (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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