The Role of Family Health and Income in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Diagnosis

Robert Kemp, University of Colorado at Boulder

This study examines adult reported diagnoses of Attention Deficit Disorder/ Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children age 2-17 years to understand the inverse relationship between income and likelihood of diagnosis from a sociological perspective, with lower income increasing the likelihood. The hypothesis is that family health, while important will not erase the effect of income. The study uses progressively built multivariate logistic regression models to test these hypotheses using the 2008 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a nationally representative health information survey. The sample data consists of 7439 children and analysis will include other socio-demographic variables known to have an influence on diagnosis. These preliminary results indicate that family health status is more important than income for ADHD diagnosis.