Expanding Understanding of Racial-Ethnic Differences in ADHD Prevalence Rates among Children to Include Asians and Alaskan Natives/American Indians

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 Data on children aged 5 to 17 from the 2004 to 2018 National Health Interview Survey Sample Child Files were used in analyses (N = 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.