Teachers' perceptions of the incidence and management of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) continues to be a common diagnosis of school children, and according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM-IV], American Psychiatric Association, 1994), it affects approximately 3%-5% of the population. Teachers are often the primary source of information regarding ADHD diagnoses in school children. A previous study by Glass and Wegar (2000) found that teachers were overidentifying children with ADHD and that medication was preferred as the primary treatment for these students. This study further examined teacher perceptions on the causes, incidence, and appropriate treatment methods of ADHD. In addition, this study also examined the prevalence of ADHD as determined by ADHD Rating Scale-IV (School Version; DuPaul et al., 1998) and examined differential identification rates by gender and ethnicity. Results showed that teachers were likely to identify children as having ADHD at rates higher than the expected prevalence rates specified in DSM-IV. Out of 121 rating scales analyzed, 23.97% of students were identified by teachers as meeting criteria for 1 of the 3 types of ADHD. Males had significantly higher scores than females and Whites had significantly higher scores than Hispanics. Class size was also associated with the likelihood that teachers would identify more than 5% of their students as having ADHD. Results suggest that, despite increasing evidence of a connection between biological factors and ADHD, environmental factors (i.e., class size and culture) may still influence teachers' perceptions about what students have the disorder.