title: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder overview. Historical perspective, current controversies, and future directions.
abstract: There have been "modern" descriptions of ADHD in the medical literature since 1902. Despite the burgeoning growth of information about the cause, pathophysiology, and effective treatments of the disorder, ADHD has been particularly steeped in controversy, especially regarding the use of medication (safety, efficacy, use or overuse, and concerns about medication treatment of preschool children). Changing diagnostic criteria, evolving conceptualizations of the disorder, and international differences in diagnosis, have enhanced and complicated ongoing research and understanding of the disorder. The recent Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD, a large, multisite study comparing efficacy of behavioral, medication, and combined treatments, and a recent NIH Consensus Conference on ADHD, represent true advances in the scientific understanding of the disorder and its treatment.
authors.affiliation: Yale Child Study Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Stubbe
mesh_terms: D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000266:history / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002665:Child Psychiatry / Q000266:history / Q000639:trends; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005544:Forecasting; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales