Analysis of Critical Incidents and Shifting Perspectives: Transitions in Illness Careers Among Adolescents with ADHD

摘要

Adolescence represents a developmental period for children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) during which the severity of mental health problems may change at a time when teens are consolidating their self identify and possibly questioning the label of an ADHD diagnosis, treatment, and types of interventions. This study investigates the shared critical events related to help-seeking reported by eight teenagers with ADHD, their mothers, and teachers and how the reported events and constructed shared focus on specific problems might explain teenagers’ transitions in their illness careers. Data collected through a qualitative application of the experience sampling method illuminated diverse illness career transitions including continuing treatment, transitioning from being treated to untreated, from being untreated to treated, and remaining untreated. Our findings support a model of shifting perspectives on illness and wellness among adolescents with ADHD, rather than a staged progression of adaptation to a chronic disorder.