Field trails for new diagnostic criteria for mental disorders are unreliable for predicting future rates
Psychiatrists must run field trials for each new set of diagnostic criteria to prevent unpleasant surprises. One problem with this even the best field trial is performed in the present and canât fully anticipate the future. The carefully done DSM-IV ADHD predicted that the proposed changes would cause only a 15 percent increase in rates. This was probably a fairly accurate estimate given the reality when the data were gathered in the early 1990s. They couldnât foresee the abrupt switch in this reality that occurred in 1997, when drug companies brought new and expensive medicine for ADHD to market and were simultaneously set free to advertise them directly to parents and teachers. Soon the selling of ADHD as a diagnosis was ubiquitous in magazines, on your TV screen, and in pediatriciansâ officesâan unexpected epidemic was born, and the rates of ADHD tripled.
References
- Frances, Allen. (2013). Saving Normal CHAPTER 1. Whatâs Normal and Whatâs Not? (p. 47). New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Metadata
Type:đ´ Tags: Psychiatry Status:âď¸