Den psykosociala miljöns betydelse under ADHD-utredningar av barn : En kvalitativ intervjustudie om psykologers förhållningssätt och handlingsutrymme

• Main Authors: Lindgren, Camilla, Lundberg, Mia
• Format: Others
• Language: Swedish
• Published: Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för socialt arbete 2020
• Subjects: psychosocial environment; ADHD; childhood maltreatment; psychologists; street-level-bureaucracy; Power Threat Meaning Framework; psykosocial miljö; vanvård i barndomen; psykologer; gräsrotsbyråkrati; Social Work; Socialt arbete
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-189655

Several quantitative studies show a significant association between the experience of childhood maltreatment and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Some researchers argue for the need of a more psychosocial approach in ADHD assessment of children partly because of the relationship between these variables. The purpose of the present study was to focus on psychologists working with ADHD assessment of children in Sweden and to examine their psychosocial approach and discretion.This study was based on six qualitative interviews which were analysed through thematic analysis. The theoretical framework used were Lipskys theory of street-level-bureaucracy as well as the Power Threat Meaning Framework. The results show that a psychosocial perspective is present during the assessment for instance when looking at the child’s history and when the ADHD-symptoms arose. However, the psychosocial focus is dictated by the amount of time and discretion the psychologist’s experience that they possess. The assessment is further affected by the psychologists characteristics such as knowledge and experiences. One of the main conclusions is that factors such as time, personal characteristics and a flexible discretion influence whether a more medical or psychosocial focus dominate the ADHD assessment.