Dauman N, Haza M, Erlandsson S. Liberating parents from guilt: a grounded theory study of parents' internet communities for the recognition of ADHD.
Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being 2019;
14:1564520. [PMID:
30696381 PMCID:
PMC6352942 DOI:
10.1080/17482631.2018.1564520]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE
This study presents a qualitative analysis of information posted on the Internet by two communities of French parents promoting the recognition of ADHD in the context of current health and school practices.
METHOD
Grounded Theory (Strauss & Corbin's approach) was applied to the posted messages, with the aim to discover the main concern and common theme through a constant comparison analysis.
RESULTS
Liberating parents from feeling responsible for their child's misconduct was found to be the core category. From this perspective, we account for the commitment of the digital communities to formalize the child's conduct as a consequence of a neurodevelopmental disorder. This approach helps to account for the promotion of behavioural expertise and conditioning strategies (e.g., positive reinforcement) for handling the child's so-called disorder as appropriate parental responses. Giving evidence for parenting struggles was the third main concern of the communities, in the face of perceived skepticism from professionals towards ADHD as a medical condition.
CONCLUSIONS
By using examples from countries that are found to have a more pro-medical approach to ADHD, the communities aim at improving such medical practices in France. Issues surrounding the claim that ADHD would require a specific style of parenting are also discussed.
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