Abstract
Teachers’ attitudes towards common disorders such as ADHD and anxiety are important to investigate, given that teachers play a significant role in the lives of young children. Implicit attitudes have not previously been investigated in this area. The current research aimed to explore teachers’ implicit and explicit gender-biased attitudes towards children with ADHD and anxiety. The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) was used to measure implicit bias, and results were analyzed in relation to explicit measures. Results indicated that teachers (N = 38) showed implicit and explicit gender biases, however there were no significant relationships between the implicit and explicit measures. The research adds to the small pool of existing literature on the topic and has potential implications regarding teachers’ understanding of ADHD and anxiety.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Data Availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.).
Barkley, R. A., & Mash, E. J. (Eds.). (2003). Child psychopathology. Guilford Press.
Barnes-Holmes, D., Barnes-Holmes, Y., Stewart, I., & Boles, S. (2010). A sketch of the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) and the Relational Elaboration and Coherence (REC) model. The Psychological Record, 60(3), 527–542. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395726.
Barnes-Holmes, D., Barnes-Holmes, Y., Luciano, C., & McEnteggart, C. (2017). From the IRAP and REC model to a multi-dimensional multi-level framework for analyzing the dynamics of arbitrarily applicable relational responding. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 6(4), 434–445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2017.08.001.
Bussing, R., Zima, B. T., Gary, F. A., & Garvan, C. W. (2003). Barriers to detection, help seeking, and service use for children with ADHD symptoms. Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 30(2), 176–189. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02289806.
Cartwright-Hatton, S., McNicol, K., & Doubleday, E. (2006). Anxiety in a neglected population: prevalence of anxiety disorders in pre-adolescent children. Clinical Psychology Review, 26(7), 817–833. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2005.12.002.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Coles, E. K., Slavec, J., Bernstein, M., & Baroni, E. (2012). Exploring the gender gap in referrals for children with ADHD and other disruptive behavior disorders. Journal of Attention Disorders, 16(2), 101–108. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054710381481.
Costello, E. J., Copeland, W., & Angold, A. (2011). Trends in psychopathology across the adolescent years: What changes when children become adolescents, and when adolescents become adults? Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, & Allied Disciplines, 52(10), 1015–1025. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02446.x.
Danielson, M. L., Bitsko, R. H., Ghandour, R. M., Holbrook, J. R., Kogan, M. D., & Blumberg, S. J. (2018). Prevalence of parent-reported ADHD diagnosis and associated treatment among US children and adolescents, 2016. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 47(2), 199–212. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2017.1417860.
Dovidio, J. F., Kawakami, K., Johnson, C., Johnson, B., & Howard, A. (1997). On the nature of prejudice: Automatic and controlled processes. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 33(5), 510–540. https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.1997.1331.
Egloff, B., & Schmukle, S. C. (2003). Does social desirability moderate the relationship between implicit and explicit anxiety measures? Personality & Individual Differences, 35(7), 1697–1706. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00391-4.
Farrell, L., & McHugh, L. (2017). Examining gender-STEM bias among STEM and non-STEM students using the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP). Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 6(1), 80–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2017.02.001.
Farrell, L., & McHugh, L. (2020). Exploring the relationship between implicit and explicit gender-STEM bias and behavior among STEM students using the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 15, 142–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2019.12.008.
Finn, M., Barnes-Holmes, D., & McEnteggart, C. (2018). Exploring the single-trial-type dominance-effect in the IRAP: Developing a differential arbitrarily applicable relational responding effects (DAARRE) model. The Psychological Record, 68(1), 11–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-017-0262-z.
Ford, T., Goodman, R., & Meltzer, H. (2003). The British child and adolescent mental health survey 1999: The prevalence of DSM-IV disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 42(10), 1203–1211. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200310000-00011.
Gershon, J. (2002). A meta-analytic review of gender differences in ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 5(3), 143–154. https://doi.org/10.1177/108705470200500302.
Ghandour, R. M., Sherman, L. J., Vladutiu, C. J., Ali, M. M., Lynch, S. E., Bitsko, R. H., & Blumberg, S. J. (2019). Prevalence and treatment of depression, anxiety, and conduct problems in US children. Journal of Pediatrics, 206, 256–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2018.09.021.
Greenwald, A. G., & Banaji, M. R. (1995). Implicit social cognition: Attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes. Psychological Review, 102(1), 4. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.102.1.4.
Groenewald, C., Emond, A., & Sayal, K. (2009). Recognition and referral of girls with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Case vignette study. Child: Care, Health & Development, 35(6), 767–772. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2214.2009.00984.x.
Grskovic, J. A., & Zentall, S. S. (2010). Understanding ADHD in girls: Identification and social characteristics. International Journal of Special Education, 25(1), 171–184.
Headley, C., & Campbell, M. A. (2011). Teachers' recognition and referral of anxiety disorders in primary school children. Australian Journal of Educational & Developmental Psychology, 11, 78–90.
Hinshaw, S. P. (2005). The stigmatization of mental illness in children and parents: Developmental issues, family concerns, and research needs. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 46(7), 714–734. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2005.01456.x.
Hussey, I., Thompson, M., McEnteggart, C., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Barnes-Holmes, Y. (2015). Interpreting and inverting with less cursing: A guide to interpreting IRAP data. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 4(3), 157–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2015.05.001.
Isaksson, J., Ruchkin, V., & Lindblad, F. (2016). Unseen and stressed? Gender differences in parent and teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms and associations with perceived stress in children with ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 24(11), 1565–1569. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054716658381.
Jackson, D. A., & King, A. R. (2004). Gender differences in the effects of oppositional behavior on teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 32(2), 215–224. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:jacp.0000019772.71251.ff.
Kavanagh, D., Matthyssen, N., Barnes-Holmes, Y., Barnes-Holmes, D., McEnteggart, C., & Vastano, R. (2019). Exploring the use of pictures of self and other in the IRAP: Reflecting upon the emergence of differential trial type effects. International Journal of Psychology & Psychological Therapy, 19(3), 323–336.
Kelly, A., & Barnes-Holmes, D. (2013). Implicit attitudes towards children with autism versus normally developing children as predictors of professional burnout and psychopathology. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 34(1), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2012.07.018.
Kelly, M. E., & Barnes-Holmes, D. (2015). Measuring implicit and explicit acceptability of reinforcement versus punishment interventions with teachers working in ABA versus mainstream schools. The Psychological Record, 65(2), 251–265. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-014-0101-4.
Loades, M. E., & Mastroyannopoulou, K. (2010). Teachers’ recognition of children’s mental health problems. Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 15(3), 150–156. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-3588.2009.00551.x.
Moldavsky, M., Groenewald, C., Owen, V., & Sayal, K. (2013). Teachers’ recognition of children with ADHD: role of subtype and gender. Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 18(1), 18–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-3588.2012.00653.x.
Nøvik, T. S., Hervas, A., Ralston, S. J., Dalsgaard, S., Rodrigues Pereira, R., Lorenzo, M. J., & ADORE Study Group. (2006). Influence of gender on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in Europe—ADORE. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 15(Suppl. 1), I15–I24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-006-1003-z.
O’Keeffe, N., Gavin, B., Cullen, W., & McNicholas, F. (2013). Child and adolescent mental health: Diagnosis & management. Irish College of General Practitioners https://www.icgp.ie/go/library/catalogue/item/A47C6ABF-C00A-43FC-06CFB6C81540CC01?highlight=child%20adolescent%20mental%20health.
Pearcy, M. T., Clopton, J. R., & Pope, A. W. (1993). Influences on teacher referral of children to mental health services gender, severity, and internalizing versus externalizing problems. Journal of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders, 1(3), 165–169. https://doi.org/10.1177/106342669300100304.
Pidgeon, A., McEnteggart, C., Harte, C., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Barnes-Holmes, Y. (2020). Four self-related IRAPs: Analyzing and interpreting effects in light of the DAARRE model. The Psychological Record. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-020-00428-9.
Royal College of Psychiatrists (2020, September). ADHD and hyperkinetic disorder: For parents and carers. https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/parents-and-young-people/information-for-parents-and-carers/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-and-hyperkinetic-disorder-information-for-parents-carers-and-anyone-working-with-young-people
Rucklidge, J. J. (2010). Gender differences in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 33(2), 357–373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2010.01.006.
Sax, L., & Kautz, K. J. (2003). Who first suggests the diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder? Annals of Family Medicine, 1(3), 171–174. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.3.
Sayal, K., & Goodman, R. (2009). Do parental reports of child hyperkinetic disorder symptoms at school predict teacher ratings? European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 18(6), 336–344. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-009-0735-y.
Sayal, K., Goodman, R., & Ford, T. (2006). Barriers to the identification of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 47(7), 744–750. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2005.01553.x.
Scanlon, G., McEnteggart, C., Barnes-Holmes, Y., & Barnes-Holmes, D. (2014). Using the implicit relational assessment procedure (IRAP) to assess implicit gender bias and self-esteem in typically-developing children and children with ADHD and with dyslexia. Behavioral Development Bulletin, 19(2), 48. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0100577.
Sciutto, M. J., Nolfi, C. J., & Bluhm, C. (2004). Effects of child gender and symptom type on referrals for ADHD by elementary school teachers. Journal of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders, 12(4), 247–253. https://doi.org/10.1177/10634266040120040501.
Stier, A., & Hinshaw, S. P. (2007). Explicit and implicit stigma against individuals with mental illness. Australian Psychologist, 42(2), 106–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/00050060701280599.
Valo, S., & Tannock, R. (2010). Diagnostic instability of DSM–IV ADHD subtypes: Effects of informant source, instrumentation, and methods for combining symptom reports. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 39(6), 749–760. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2010.517172.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nolan, C., Murphy, C. & Kelly, M. Using the IRAP to Investigate Gender Biases Towards ADHD and Anxiety. Psychol Rec 72, 111–117 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-021-00474-x
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-021-00474-x