Academic textbooks [corrected] on ADHD genetics: balanced or biased?

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Genetics
• Medical Education

Background:

• Academic textbooks are crucial for educating healthcare professionals about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
• Accurate representation of genetic research, including both quantitative and molecular genetics, is essential for a comprehensive understanding of ADHD etiology.
• Previous assessments have not systematically evaluated the balance of genetic information in ADHD textbooks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the representation of genetic research findings in academic ADHD textbooks used in Dutch university programs.
• To determine if textbooks adequately contrast quantitative genetics' heritability estimates with molecular genetics' findings.

Main Methods:

• A systematic analysis of 43 academic textbooks used in pre-master's and master's programs at 10 Dutch universities.
• Content analysis focused on the discussion of genetic effect sizes and the comparison between quantitative and molecular genetic study outcomes.

Main Results:

• Only 25% of the analyzed textbooks mentioned both quantitative and molecular genetic effect sizes and contrasted their findings.
• Another 25% of textbooks did not discuss any genetic effect sizes.
• Approximately 50% of textbooks presented quantitative genetics' high heritability estimates without addressing the lower effect sizes from molecular genetics, potentially misrepresenting ADHD genetic underpinnings.

Conclusions:

• A significant portion of academic ADHD textbooks provide a potentially misleading overview of genetic research.
• Textbooks often fail to reconcile the discrepancies between quantitative and molecular genetics, which may confuse future healthcare professionals.
• There is a need for improved accuracy and balance in presenting ADHD genetic research in educational materials.