Underutilization of medication to treat ADHD in African American children: reasoned action and planned behavior.

Abstract

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is one of the most common mental illness diagnoses given to children today. While African American children are diagnosed with the disorder at approximately the same rate as Anglo children, they are disproportionately underrepresented in medication therapy programs. This study uses Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) theory of reasoned action and Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behavior to explore the factors underlying African American's decision to use medication to treat their child's ADHD. While the theory of reasoned action explains most of the variance in intention to seek medication for a child with ADHD, the theory of planned behavior adds to the explanatory power of the model and causes the effect of race to disappear.