Identifying Hyperactive Children: Medicalization of Deviant Behaviour (Lexington Books) - Hardcover

Conrad, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0669004995 ISBN 13: 9780669004991

Publisher: Imprint unknown, 1976

Synopsis

This is a new and expanded edition of a classic case-study in the medicalization of ADHD, originally published in 1976. The book centres on an empirical study of the process of identifying hyperactive children, providing a perceptive and accessible introduction to the concepts and issues involved. In this revised edition, Peter Conrad sets the original study in context, demonstrating the continuing relevance of his research. He highlights the issues at stake, outlining recent changes in our understanding of ADHD and reviewing recent sociological research. Peter Conrad is Harry Coplan Professor of Social Sciences at Brandeis University, USA. He has written extensively in the area of medical sociology, publishing nine books and over eighty articles and chapters.

About this title

Review

'Peter Conrad's Identifying Hyperactive Children is at the same time a classic study of the labelling of deviant behaviour and a prescient view of what has since become a major social problem. It remains the best sociological analysis of hyperactivity. Its reissue with an informative introduction and recent paper on adult ADHD is welcome news for the sociology of deviance and social control.' Allan Horwitz, Rutgers University, USA 'This book is a classic work in medical sociology. It served as a jumping-off point for Peter Conrad's development of the theory of medicalization, which has been central to medical sociology, and increasingly to medicine and other fields. It is fitting that one of the senior scholars in medical sociology can revisit the work that began his career, and show us how incredibly relevant it is three decades later. Conrad updates his work by showing increases in ADHD diagnosis, how adults now are increasingly diagnosed, and how the greatly expanded power of pharmaceutical companies can cloud medical and personal judgment.' Phil Brown, Brown University, USA 'Although first published thirty years ago this book remains one of the few sociological studies of what has become a major social problem - the medicalization of hyperactivity. Its re-issue with a new introduction and concluding chapter makes the book essential reading for all those concerned with medicalization in general and the case of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in particular. Immediately it will be clear how many of the concerns of the original book remain highly pertinent today, while the material that has been added highlights what has changed - in particular the expansion of ADHD to adults.' Jonathan Gabe, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK '...relevant and provocative...the attention to detail provides much to think about...this book is both challenging and sobering.' Metapsychology Online '...a classic in social theory...a masterful account of qualitative research.' Health Sociology Review 'Conrad's original book was a significant contribution to understanding the way in which labels like ADHD come to be allocated and used by institutions...This new edition is a timely reminder of that debate and remains a valuable text today. It has not aged.' Youth and Policy

About the Author

Peter Conrad is Harry Coplan Professor of Social Sciences at Brandeis University, USA. He has written extensively in the area of medical sociology, and published over eighty articles and chapters and nine books.

Edition details

• Publisher: Imprint unknown
• Publication date: 1976
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0669004995
• ISBN 13: 9780669004991
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 144