ADHD and Mental Health Policy in USA

Plain-language summary

Understanding how mental health policies and insurance coverage affect ADHD diagnosis and management is a complex issue. While these studies don't directly address state-specific policies or insurance for ADHD, they do offer some insights into factors that can influence how mental health conditions are perceived and treated, particularly regarding diagnostic decisions and potential biases.

Key findings

• Research suggests that a person's race or ethnicity might unintentionally influence how doctors diagnose and decide on treatment for behavioral issues in children.
• One study indicates that ideas about disability assistance can alter how people judge the health symptoms of others.

Studies cited (2)

1. Does Patient Race/Ethnicity Influence Physician Decision-Making for Diagnosis and Treatment of Childhood Disruptive Behavior Problems? — Garland AF, Taylor R, Brookman-Frazee L (2015, Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities, other)

   DOI: 10.1007/s40615-014-0069-4

2. Monetizing illness: the influence of disability assistance priming on how we evaluate the health symptoms of others — O'Brien RL (2015, Social science & medicine (1982), other)

   DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.01.001