Biomedicalización e infancia: trastorno de déficit de atención e hiperactividad

the article critically analyzes the increasing number of children diagnosed with and treated for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd). the analysis links this growing phenomenon with the strategies of the pharmaceutical industry to attain leadership in the health-illness-care process as well as in the health market. we utilized analytical and interpretive methods to study primary and secondary data and conducted an extensive literature review. in light to the concept of biomedicalization, we analyzed the ideological and subjective mechanisms that facilitated the institutionalization of this discourse as a new truth concerning this disease as well as its legitimization by governmental and civic organizations. the biomedicalization of children's suffering facilitates the concealment of deeply rooted socio-economic, political, ideological and cultural changes that have radically transformed our societies over the past few decades.