Heroic struggles, criminals and scientific breakthroughs: ADHD and the medicalization of child behaviour in Australian newsprint media 1999–2009

Abstract

There is a dearth of scholarly analysis and critique of the Australian newsprint media’s role in the medicalization of child behaviour. To begin to redress this lack this paper analyses newsprint media’s use of metaphors that re/describe and construct realities of ADHD with a medicalizing effect. The interdisciplinary team used the Factiva TM database to locate and review 453 articles published in Australian national and metropolitan newspapers during the decade 1999–2009. Data analysis involved generating statistical descriptions of the dataset according to attributes such as: date, state, newspaper titles and author names. This was followed by inductive analysis of article content. Content analysis revealed pervasive and striking use of metaphor in newsprint media reporting of ADHD content, especially when describing health professionals, educators, parents and children. This collection of metaphors was striking, and while the metaphors deployed were varied, this diversity seemed underscored by a common functionality that increased the risk that child behaviour was explained using medicalized knowledge. We contend that these metaphors collectively and coherently functioned to simplify and delimit meanings of children’s health and behaviour to favour depictions that medicalize problems of children and childhood.

Online News Media Portrayal of ADHD on the Websites of BBC and CNN International during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…According to that study, media medicalization of ADHD was afected by drug companies and high diagnosis and prescription rates. ADHD has been historically conceptualized as a disruptive behavior disorder [62] and it has been emblematic of the medicalization of child behavior [63,64]. On the other hand, medical diagnostic criteria penetrated discursive practices and challenged media medicalization [65].…”

“…Horton-Salway [67] examined the UK national newspapers between 2000 and 2009 and presented biological and psychosocial media frames in which children with ADHD and their parents were mostly negatively represented. Harwood et al [63] analyzed Australian newspaper media between 1999 and 2009 and pointed out that metaphors in media reports had a medicalizing efect while describing and constructing the realities of ADHD. Ray and Hinnant [68] explored ADHD coverage in magazines from 1985 to 2008 and expressed that magazines helped to normalize ADHD by creating a better-informed and empathetic audience.…”

Parallel Development: Medicalization and Decriminalization in the Changing Media Framing of the Opioid Overdose Crisis

“…Contemporary (bio)medicalization frameworks adopt a social constructivist perspective in studying the penetration of medical knowledge into everyday life (Busfield 2017; Clarke et al 2003; Conrad 2005; Williams, Martin, and Gabe 2011). Recent (bio)medicalization studies explain how an expanding reservoir of medical concepts turns social conditions into medical problems (Conrad and Bergey 2014; Epstein and Mamo 2017), particularly through the media (Arguedas 2020; Harwood et al 2017). Contemporary studies on the drug problem follow this trend and explore how drug use is medicalized as medical concepts are spread from the medical community to the media and the wider society.…”

Medicalización como problema de salud internacional. La prensa escrita online sobre TDAH en Argentina (2001-2017)

“…Y uno de los peores problemas para tramitar psíquicamente es la negación de una percepción: que se le diga a alguien «No, eso que estás viendo no es de esa manera»". (Página 12, 15/9/2011)Adicionalmente, mencionamos, a efectos de una lectura panorámica, que, a nivel internacional, en estudios de Reino Unido (Horton-Salway, 2011 y 2012), Francia(Ponnou y Gonon, 2017), Australia(Harwood et al, 2017), Estados Unidos(Ray y Hinnant, 2009) y Brasil(Brzozowski y Caponi, 2017; Ortega et al, 2010;Itaborahy y Ortega, 2013) sobre prensa escrita y TDAH encontramos los siguientes hallazgos: en primer lugar, la escuela y la familia son los actores sociales más nombrados en los cinco países; en segundo lugar, se mencionan profesionales de la salud, principalmente psiquiatras y médicos en general (Reino Unido, Francia, Australia, Brasil), seguidos por psicólogos (Francia, Australia, Estados Unidos) y pediatras, psicoanalistas, terapistas y trabajadores sociales (Francia, Australia, Estados Unidos y Brasil); en tercer lugar, la prensa escrita y los periodistas son nombrados también en cuatro de los cinco estudios -la excepción es Reino Unido-; y en cuarto lugar, los trabajos se refieren a la industria farmacéutica, y asociaciones, consejos y autoridades sobre salud, psiquiatría y fármacos, especialmente en Reino Unido, Francia y Brasil.La figura de los niños y las niñas están presentes en todos los artículos, y como referencia principal al mencionar el diagnóstico de TDAH; en menor medida se mencionan los adolescentes y los adultos. Por último, en estudios sobre tres países se nombran asociaciones y/o fundaciones de padres o pacientes (Francia, Australia y Brasil), y en algunos (Estados Unidos, Francia y Reino Unido) se hace referencia a la sociedad como parte del problema.Legislación sobre salud mental y TDAH.…”