Race Matters: Disparities in African-American Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD, has become one of the most

commonly diagnosed childhood behavioral disorders. African American children,

specifically, have been found to be less likely to be treated for ADHD even after

receiving a diagnosis when compared to their Caucasian counterparts.

In contrast to the plethora of research on ADHD in Caucasian children, there is

limited information about ADHD among African American children. To further explore

this inadequacy, Samuel et al. (1998) interviewed 19 African American children with

DSM-III-R ADHD and 24 African American children without ADHD. Interviewers

conducted a psychiatric assessment of the participants using the Schedule for Affective

Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children—Epidemiologic Version (5), as

well as material based on the DSM-III-R. Compared with children who did not have

ADHD, African American children with ADHD had higher levels of psychiatric

disorders other than ADHD (e.g. disruptive disorders, mood disorders, anxiety disorders,

substance disorders). The findings of this study were compared with an earlier study of

Caucasian children with ADHD. The comorbidity of ADHD with other disruptive

behavior disorders has been associated with poor prognosis, delinquency, and substance

abuse in Caucasian children. These preliminary findings suggest that the currently

accepted definition of ADHD identifies a disorder with similar—but not identical—

psychiatric correlates to those previously identified in Caucasians (Samuel et al., 1998).

The results of this study should be interpreted with caution, as the number of participants

was relatively small and it was difficult to detect group differences. We can infer that as

compared to Caucasian children, the comorbidity of ADHD in African American children

may have an association with poor prognosis and insufficient treatment. Several other

epidemiological studies have shown that African American children with ADHD and/or

psychiatric disorders remain untreated.