Expanding Understanding of Racial-Ethnic Differences in ADHD Prevalence Rates among Children to Include Asians and Alaskan Natives/American Indians
Ashlyn W. W. A. Wong, Scott D. Landes
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Prior studies show that ADHD prevalence rates vary by race-ethnicity, but these studies do not include a full range of racial-ethnic minority groups. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to understand differences in ADHD prevalence among children across a wider range of racial-ethnic groups, overall and stratified by biological sex. METHOD: = 120,129). RESULTS: Compared to Non-Hispanic White children, ADHD prevalence was lower among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Asian children. This difference was present for both males and females. Across all racial-ethnic groups, males had higher ADHD prevalence than females. CONCLUSION: Results from this study provide further evidence that racial-ethnic disparities in ADHD prevalence rates persist across sex and provide initial evidence of substantially lower ADHD prevalence among Non-Hispanic Asians. Implications, limitations, and future research directions derived from the results are discussed.