Perspectives of French adolescents with ADHD and child and adolescent psychiatrists regarding methylphenidate use.

Many studies have demonstrated the short-term efficacy and tolerability of methylphenidate treatment adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Qualitative literature on this matter focused on school outcomes, long-term side effects, family conflicts, personality changes and stigmatization. Yet, no qualitative study has crossed the perspectives of child and adolescent psychiatrists (CAPs) prescribing methylphenidate and adolescents with ADHD. This French qualitative study followed the five stages IPSE-Inductive Process to analyze the Structure of lived Experience-approach. Fifteen adolescents with ADHD and 11 CAPs were interviewed. Data collection by purposive sampling continued until data saturation was reached. Data analysis, based on a descriptive and structuring procedure to determine the structure of lived experience characterized by the central axes of experience, produced two axes: (1) The process of methylphenidate prescription, highlighting how this prescription was motivated from the exterior, experienced as passive by the adolescents and required commitment from the CAPs; and (2) the perceived effects of methylphenidate treatment, in three domains: at school, in relationships and in the sense of self. Findings raised both the issues of the epistemic position and social representation of the adolescents about ADHD and methylphenidate within this specific French context, and the self-awareness and perception of the adolescents with ADHD. We conclude that these two issues need to be regularly addressed by the CAPs prescribing methylphenidate to avoid epistemic injustice and prevent the harmful effects of stigmatization.

Clinical practice during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study among child and adolescent psychiatrists across the world.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has directly impacted the field of child and adolescent psychiatry, affecting all aspects of the lives of children and their families and increasing their risk of distress and mental health issues, especially among children with preexisting psychiatric disorders. Child and adolescent psychiatrists (CAPs) across the world have had to adapt their practice, due to lockdown and social distancing measures. This study aimed to explore how CAPs experienced their clinical practice in these singular conditions. METHODS: This exploratory international qualitative study used the Inductive Process to analyse the Structure of lived Experience (IPSE) approach, which is a five-stage inductive process used to explore the lived experience of participants in depth and to analyze their structure of lived experience. This study took place from March through July 2020 through individual in-depth video interviews. The sample size was determined according to the principles of theoretical sufficiency. RESULTS: 39 CAPs from 26 countries participated (age range 32-70 years; 23 women). Data analysis produced a structure of lived experience comprising three central axes of experience: (1) lost in space, lost in time, describing CAPs' experience of disorganization of their clinical practice in the dimensions of lived time and lived space, (2) the body-of CAPs and patients-underlining their disconcerting experience of both sensory aspects and the non-embodied encounter during clinical practice, and (3) unpleasant emotions, with angst and loneliness the two main feelings coloring their clinical practice experience. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis of the structure of lived experience of CAPs went beyond the sole context of the pandemic and revealed key aspects of what usually organizes CAP clinical practice. It identified two blind spots or conceptual voids within the child and adolescent psychiatry field: first, the intrinsic therapeutic function of a CAP clinical practice and, second, the important diagnostic and therapeutic function of the embodied encounter during CAP consultations. Beyond the context of COVID-19, further research should investigate these aspects to better define what a CAP does in practice and to increase both attractiveness and recruitment in this specialty.