ADHD

Research Project: Is ADHD Genetically Influenced?

Reason: Our research tries to determine if ADHD is genetically influenced. If there is a significant genetic component to ADHD, then it is likely that ADHD is the manifestation of the genetic variation among the human population that is still within the natural range, rather than a “disorder”. A mutation or mutations that gave rise to ADHD are most likely harmful and cannot spread (unless through balancing selection), and ADHD is too prevalent to be a harmful condition that led to lower fitness in the past. More likely, the genetic variants (alleles) that led to the diagnosis of ADHD today actually produced a phenotype (inattention, hyperactivity) that was not harmful, or might even be beneficial, among the ancestral human hunters-gatherers, especially among boys. However, with the vastly different environment of today—enforced schooling for children—this phenotype becomes maladjusted, though maybe not maladaptive. This may explain why ADHD is much more prevalent in boys than in girls. The prevalence of ADHD may be attributed to the same cause as the prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in today’s society: a mismatch between genes evolved during the age of the hunters-gatherers and the modern environment of today.

Hypothesis: ADHD is genetically influenced.

Null Hypothesis: There is no difference between the rate of ADHD in a person whose sibling has ADHD compared to the rate of ADHD in the general population.

Procedure:

1. Collect research articles online regarding the concordance rate of ADHD among siblings.

2. Select the articles with data that can be analyzed.

3. Combine the data from these articles and analyze them using statistics methods such as X2.

4. Calculate the results to determine if they disprove the null hypothesis.

After this initial research proejct, we will use the following questionnaire to collect original data on the rate of ADHD among siblings.