What’s Wrong with Me? What’s Wrong with You? The Issue of Over-Diagnosing ADHD in Children

Abstract

Historically, the field of mental health has been shrouded in controversy and conflict. The problems associated with diagnosing mental illnesses are still prevalent today, and this process becomes even more complicated when assessing children, who have yet to develop mature social skills and cognitive functioning. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the mental health conditions that is diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Overwhelming support from the primary literature suggests that the current procedures of diagnosing ADHD- which begin during childhood- allow for a high degree of subjectivity, inconsistency, and uncertainty. For these reasons, the issue of over-diagnosing ADHD in children has become more significant, and more plausible than ever before. By outlining the key factors that contribute to this problem, certain modifications can be made to improve the ADHD diagnostic procedures for future applications. These changes can increase the accuracy of mental health assessments, thus minimizing the number of false positive diagnoses of ADHD in children worldwide.