For my junior theme, I chose to explore the reasons behind the recent boom in diagnosis of attention deficit disorder, referred to as ADD. There are tons of statistics that detail the recent increase in diagnosis - for instance, there has been a 41% increase in diagnosis in kids ages 4 to 17 in the past decade. This is a staggering increase, and nobody really knows why it is happening right now. It is similar to Mr. Bolos' lecture on the civil rights movement - he posed the question of why it took place in the 60s instead of earlier or later. The same question applies to the recent increase in ADD diagnosis.
I think the main reason for the increase is due to the data. There has to be some sort of difference in either the data itself or the interpretation of the data in order for the increase to occur. From the research that I conducted, I came to the conclusion that the data itself is different than previous years. The cause for this difference, in my opinion, is due to the influence of the Pharmaceutical industry.
The drug companies' involvement is large - they fund studies and also have say during the editing process. This means that they can pay off researchers before the research is conducted, and they also have the ability to change the results after it is conducted. That produces tainted data, which changes what qualifies as having ADD, which therefore increases the rates.
Can you guys think of other reasons for the increase?
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