UNTREATED ADHD CAN INCREASE CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR
Running head: UNTREATED ADHD CAN INCREASE CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR 1
UNTREATED ADHD CAN INCREASE CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR 9
Untreated ADHD can increase Criminal Behavior
Jailya Wooden
Walden University
April 4, 2020
Introduction
The treatment of ADHD and the approaches to be employed are reliant on several factors including the age of the individuals suffering the disease, whether to be employed with other approaches and the comorbidities present. ADHD is a major issue in public health and can have negative effects on the families of the patient and society as a whole. As such, understanding the underlying factors of ADHD, its diagnosis and treatment approaches is crucial to how well the condition will be dealt with in the future. This paper looks into six research articles as part of the Capstone project and their studies of ADHD related subjects.
Articles Synthesis
According to Lücke et al., 2017, CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy is characterized as the standard type of psychotherapy administered in adults suffering ADHD. The article recognizes that biological factors including chronic negative feedback during childhood can play a role in the characterization of ADHD as a developmental disorder and these cannot be addressed substantially using CBT. The article looks into schema therapy which has recently become popular for use as a therapy approach when it comes to chronic psychiatric disorders due to its effectiveness. The therapy is centered on the targeting and identification of beliefs and dysfunctional patterns that are formed from experiences during childhood and encapsulated as early maladaptive schemas. The article also looks into studies that were used to demonstrate the increased prevalence of these schemas in ADHD suffering adults. As such, it analyzes the effectiveness and utilization of schema therapy and its potential in utilizing maladaptive schemas to treat ADHD. The effectiveness of the approach is bolstered when there are the influence and existence of secondary problems including impaired self-perception and poor coping mechanisms (Lücke et al., 2017). The article also cites the importance of conducting controlled randomized clinical studies to support the adoption of the approach and the analysis of its effectiveness in treating attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD.
According to Pan et al., 2019, the article looks into a study that compares CBT alone to its combination with medication in terms of cognitive and social functions, self-esteem, emotional symptoms and core symptoms in patients suffering ADHD. The study provides proof that CBT is an effective approach when it comes to treating ADHD regardless of whether it is employed with medication or not. There were, however, broader improvements when CBT was employed with medication in executive function but not in clinical symptoms, as compared to the use of CBT alone. This would, therefore, provide a scientific basis for the clinical selection of treatment options that would be based on the needs and characteristics of patients. The study was the first to be conducted in China to look into the efficacy of CBT with and without medication. The study showed that it can be effective in adults suffering ADHD and there were no overarching differences between the different groups when it came to emotions and core symptoms. CBT alone was found to be more effective for daily functions while its combination with medication was more effective on emotional functions (Pan et al., 2019). Moreover, the CBT treatment administered as part of the study with and without medication showed results of significant improvements in terms of functional and emotional outcomes and ADHD symptoms in its baseline.
According to Stavrou, 2019, the study was purposed on investigating the efficacy of the incorporation of mentalization and psychodynamic psychotherapy as approaches for treating ADHD and impairment in mentalization. It would also look into the links between ADHD in children and mentalization capacity. The study was based on the theory that there is a relationship between mentalization capacity and ADHD and that for children suffering mentalization capacity and ADHD, psychodynamic psychotherapy can be effective. The study engaged children who were previously diagnosed with mentalization impairment and ADHD treatment using psychotherapy, and this was combined with approaches that were focused on mentalization. At the beginning and end of the treatment, the study employed Rorschach’s tests. The results of the study indicated that there was progress in terms of mentalization impairment and ADHD in the children studied and that there was also a link or relationship between ADHD and mentalization capacity (Stavrou, 2019). This would have positive implications in the treatment of ADHD with comorbidity with impairment in mentalization.
According to Molina, 2016, the perception of children when it comes to the behavior of their parents is crucial for their adjustment. It can be very challenging to raise children with ADHD and little is understood on how children suffering ADHD perceive their parents’ style of raising children. The article looked into a study that aimed to analyze how children with ADHD perceived control and acceptance in child-parent relationships. There was an analysis of how this perception relates to externalizing behaviors, impulsivity or hyperactivity, and inattention. The study analyzed children with ADHD and those without ADHD attending psychotherapy, as well as those with unknown status of ADHD and not attending psychotherapy. The study included their parents. Analysis of variance indicated that children suffering ADHD perceived increased levels of pathological control in their maternal relationships as compared to the other two groups. Those children with unknown status and not attending psychotherapy showed higher extreme autonomy than the other two groups. There were also findings that the perception of extreme autonomy and pathological control by parents could be used to predict externalizing symptoms in ADHD suffering children. In children without ADHD and attending psychotherapy, inattention could be predicted using the perceptions of pathological control and maternal acceptance. Moreover, perceived paternal acceptance and perceived maternal pathological control could be used to predict externalizing symptoms in children with ADHD and attending psychotherapy (Molina, 2016). As such, the study indicated the importance of considering the perceptions of children when it comes to their relationships with their parents on top of reports from their fathers on their behavior concerning ADHD.
According to Wieber et al., 2018, ADHD is a huge problem in public health and has numerous negative outcomes for the individuals who are affected that can be burdening to society and families. Even as non-pharmaceutical treatment options and pharmacological treatment encapsulated in a multimodal therapeutic approach is taken as the standard, the observation of MPH or methylphenidate treatment is important. This is due to its likely correspondence to the reduced utilization of other options for treatments. The article looks into a study geared towards the analysis of the perceived challenges and the practice of pediatricians when it comes to treatment and diagnosis of ADHD. The study utilized an online survey analyzing perceived challenges, personal attitudes, and therapy and diagnostic procedures that were sent to an organization of pediatricians. The professionals reported that selecting a therapy was done based on the exchanges with children and parents and the children suffering ADHD. The pediatricians set up three meetings, two of which the child suffering ADHD attends. They report and include information from numerous sources before diagnosing. The challenges mentioned included limited resources, frequent comorbidities, and the subjective characteristics of diagnosis (Wieber et al., 2018). The most frequent treatment approach was pharmacological therapy, then psychotherapy and lastly, occupational therapy. In terms of case management, the challenges included unfavorable public attitudes regarding medication and decreased availability of psychotherapy and youth and child psychiatry. The study found out that pediatricians make considerations of multimodal approaches to treating ADHD and indicate a high involvement of the children and their families in the selection of the therapy to be employed. There were also indications of the potential of improving the cooperation with other specialists including social workers and teachers in school (Wieber et al., 2018). There was also the potential for increased availability of ADHD information and psychotherapy.
According to Scholle et al., 2020, the article looked into a study that was aimed at the identification of the characteristics that could be utilized to predict the use of psychotherapy and/or medication after the commencing diagnosis of ADHD. The use of medication was associated with the male gender and diagnoses with comorbid conduct and developmental disorder, comorbid depression and hyperactivity. The use of psychotherapy alone was associated with emotional and conduct disorders, somatoform, comorbid neurotic and the male gender. Receiving both treatments, on the other hand, was associated with emotional and conduct disorders, somatoform, and neurotic and comorbid depressions. The study indicated that in the instances of equal access to both options for treatment, those with externalizing symptoms, for instance, were increasingly prone to receive psychotherapy and or medication than an average child diagnosed with the condition. Additionally, patients with psychiatric comorbidities representing externalizing symptoms such as conduct disorders and internalizing symptoms such as anxiety and depression were increasingly likely to receive medication and psychotherapy. The reduced chances of…
