Singh, Ilina (2005) Will the 'real boy' please behave: Dosing dilemmas for parents of boys with ADHD. American journal of bioethics, 5 (3). pp. 34-37. ISSN 1526-5161
Abstract
The use of Ritalin and other stimulant drug treatments for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) raises distinctive moral dilemmas for parents; these moral dilemmas have not been adequately addressed in the bioethics literature. This paper draws upon data from a qualitative empirical study to investigate parents' use of the moral ideal of authenticity as part of their narrative justifications for dosing decisions and actions. I show that therapeutic decisions and actions are embedded in valued cultural ideals about masculinity, self-actualization and success, as well as in moral conceptions of authenticity and personal freedom. I argue that this investigation of parents' moral justifications and dosing dilemmas raises questions about the validity of authenticity as a transcendent moral principle. Moreover, this study demonstrates that in order to be relevant, bioethical analysis of neurocognitive enhancement must engage with ground-up studies of moral principles and decision-making in context.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/15265161.as... |
| Additional Information: | © 2005 Taylor and Francis Group |
| Library of Congress subject classification: | R Medicine > R Medicine (General) Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology |
| Sets: | Research centres and groups > LSE Health Research centres and groups > BIOS (Centre for the Study of Bioscience, Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Society) |
| Rights: | http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/rights/LSERO.htm |
| URL: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/15152/ |
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