Homicide

Introduction

Homicide (Latin: homicidium, Latin: homo man + Latin: caedere to cut, kill). Refers to the act of one human being killing another human being [1] A common form of homicide, for example, would be murder. You can also describe a person who has committed such an act, although this use is rare in modern English. Murder is not always an act punishable under criminal law, and is different from a murder in a formal legal point of view. (Barkley, 206).

As research progressed through the 1970s, the work of Douglas (1983) had a profound influence on the disorder being renamed from hyperkinetic reaction of childhood in DSM-II (APA, 1968) to attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADD+H) or without hyperactivity (ADD-H) in DSM-III (APA, 1980). Research on ADD subsequently grew astronomically, including attempts to validate the subtypes of ADD by demonstrating that the patterns of impairment for each subtype were distinct, for which support was minimal at the time of DSM-III. Despite these attempts, DSM-III-R (APA, 1987) reflected a reemergence of placing equal emphasis on hyperactivity, impulsiveness, and inattention as the central characteristics of the disorder, now termed ADHD. Authors of the DSM-III-R subdued the nonhyperactive subtype to a vaguely defined category, Undifferentiated ADD.

With empirical efforts in force during the 1980s, researchers placed considerable energy on developing more research-informed diagnostic criteria accompanied by improved clarity, specificity, and effective operational definitions (Barkley, 2006). Not only did these efforts positively influence the nature of DSM-III-R, they also set the stage for dramatic developments in the areas of social-ecological considerations (e.g., child-environment interactions); theoretical advances; a detailed consideration of the nature, etiology, and course unique to ADHD; advances in the tools of assessment; treatments for ADHD; and increased public awareness (Barkley, 2006). These efforts enabled professionals to view ADHD as a chronic, developmental disorder with a marked heritability accompanied by a pattern of adverse academic and psychosocial outcomes.

Thesis

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the current term in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2000; see Chapter 79 for a review of the DSM) to classify individuals exhibiting persistent, pervasive, developmentally inconsistent, and maladaptive levels of inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity. ADHD is one of the most common referral concerns to health care providers and one of the most common childhood psychiatric disorders (Barkley, 26). Evidence of ADHD symptomatology persisting beyond childhood has resulted in a dramatic increase in adult referrals and clinical/empirical literature involving this population. Literally hundreds of articles are published each year addressing a vast array of issues pertaining to this intriguing and sometimes controversial disorder.

Discussion

The increase in prevalence rates of ADHD, particularly in the United States, has given support to claims of medicalization. Although the official prevalence estimate is 3 to 7 percent (APA, 200), this figure varies tremendously depending on numerous methodological, developmental, and administrative (e.g., changes in laws) parameters (Lahey, Miller, Gordon, & Riley, 1999; Taylor, Sandberg, Thorley, & Giles, 1991). A recent comprehensive review of the worldwide prevalence of ADHD refuted previous claims that ADHD ...