AUTHOR=Mills Sheelah TITLE=The scientific integrity of ADHD: A critical examination of the underpinning theoretical constructs JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry VOLUME=13 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1062484 DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1062484 ISSN=1664-0640 ABSTRACT=
Prior to the establishment and promotion of ADHD as a psychiatric disorder, the labels “minimal brain dysfunction” (MBD), “hyperactivity” (HA), and “learning disability” (LD) were diagnostic terms for children with hard-to-manage behaviors. At the time, these labels and the treatment interventions, especially the heavy reliance on stimulant medications, were subject to criticism. Nearly half a century later, these criticisms apply equally to ADHD, suggesting a disturbing lack of progress in this area of child psychiatry. Therefore, the aim of this article is to examine the scientific integrity of ADHD, to establish why this is the case. I use a philosophy of science framework to track the