Children's development is high on the international policy agenda. Research has consistently found that resources available during early childhood are strongly associated with children's behavioral development. This study adds to this literature by investigating the role of socio-economic resources in early childhood on the likelihood and timing of children’s ADHD diagnosis in the Danish context.
In the Danish setting receiving an ADHD diagnosis is associated with increased access to additional resources ensuring the best possible support and care for the child. Using data from the Danish Longitudinal Survey of Children (DALSC) linked to national register data and by means of event history techniques, we examine the impact of parental education, parental occupation, household income, and household structure on the likelihood and timing of children with similar behavioral issues receiving an ADHD diagnosis. Children's behavioral development is measured using the Strengths and Difficult Questionnaire (SDQ).
This study is unusual in that we have information on a so-called counterfactual group. That is, a group of non-diagnosed children that have behavioral conduct problems at a similar level as those children receiving an ADHD diagnosis. Thus, it is possible to study the mechanisms associated with diagnosis versus non-diagnosis over time. Preliminary results suggest that social inequality does, to some degree, exist among children with regard to who receive an ADHD diagnosis in the Danish context.