Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #112096

Susan DosReis, PhD¹, Arlene Butz, CRNP, ScD², Paul Lipkin, MD³, Julia Anixt, MD⁴, Courtney L. Weiner¹, and Robin Chernoff, MD². (1) Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 600 N. Wolfe Street, CMSC 346, Baltimore, MD 21287, 443-287-4347, sdosrei1@jhmi.edu, (2) Departmentof Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21287, (3) Kennedy Krieger Institute, 707 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, (4) Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205

Objective: Racial and socioeconomic disparities in the treatment of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been noted, but limited information exists on how these factors are related to parental views towards stimulant medication treatment. This study examines the effects of race and social class on parental perceptions of ADHD and stimulant treatment.

Methods: Parents with a child treated for ADHD in an urban and suburban primary care setting were recruited to complete a self-administered survey. The survey was designed to assess knowledge and attitudes toward the disorder and its treatment as well as satisfaction with improvement as a result of treatment. The 272 white or African-American respondents are the focus of the current analysis.

Results: Overall, African-American parents had less positive views of stimulant treatment than whites. More African-Americans than whites believed that stimulants led to drug abuse (16% versus 5%), preferred counseling over medication (22% versus 4%), and thought that counseling was the best treatment for ADHD (58% versus 31%). A smaller proportion of African-Americans (59%) would recommend medication treatment to others compared with whites (79%). Although social class and the interaction of race and social class were not significant, there was a main effect of race after adjusting for social class.

Conclusion: The study findings suggest that differences in parental views of ADHD and stimulant treatment are attributed mainly to race. Additional work is needed to clarify why racial differences exist and whether such differences impact health outcomes.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session participants will be able to

• List race and SES differences in parental views of stimulant medication.
• Identify factors that may be explain racial differences in parental views of psychotropic medication.
• Recognize the public health implications for racial differences in parental understanding of stimulant medication.

Keywords: Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Patient Perspective

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation