Gender

Gender, Racial/Ethnic, and Cultural Impact on Developmental Disorders
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Gender, Racial/Ethnic, and Cultural Impact on Developmental Disorders
Introduction
There are many developmental disorders that affect children and adolescents. Increasingly, many parents are seeking professional advance in dealing with these health problems (Norbury & Sparks, 2013). In the process, they get various diagnosis and advice to address the problems and possibly help the children to develop like those doing so normally. Among the disorders are autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and specific language impairment (SLI). Besides the clinical explanation for the emergence of the health and developmental challenges, there are many other gender- and culture-specific accounts. Conceptualization of the disorders is dependent upon the culture within which it develops. For example, within the western culture, there is the tendency to look at the disorders from a medical model perspective. The same cannot be said for other cultures such as the southern ones. Research has indicated that the background of the parents plays an important role in the explanation, diagnosis and treatment of the disorders.
The Diagnostic Process
The Role of Gender
Some medical conditions have a gender explanation, and the reality plays a critical part in the way they are diagnosed. Such conditions are the ones that affect individuals during the adolescence, whether internalizing (such as bipolar and depressive disorders) or externalizing (like ADHD) disorders.

The diagnosis follows the process through which the disorders manifest themselves and the way they differ across the gender of the affected persons. Douglas & Scott (2014) investigated the concept of gender distribution in some of the common disorders that are identifiable during adolescence, unipolar disorders and bipolar disorders. They also looked at the depressive disorders, among the most common disorders that affect individuals during their teenage. Most of the identified conditions tend to manifest themselves in the onset of puberty, proceeding long for the individual to enter adulthood. Another interesting finding in the research carried out on this area is the prevalence rate of the disorders, which is higher in females than in males. There are notable differences in the onset and manifestation of the disorders across gender. Thus, the differences plays out in the way the professional diagnose and plan for the treatment of the disorders.
The Role of Race/Ethnicity and Culture
The diagnosis of childhood disorders such as ADHD is showed to differ across racial/ethnic groups. The potential explanation is the cultural role in the way the disorder develops, is identified and managed. Rothe (2005) speaks about cultural diversity in the diagnosis of the disorder. While the actual reason for the differences is not evident in the studies on the topic, the most probable cause is the difference in access to health care. Compared to Caucasians, Hispanics have been showed to experience a higher rate of diagnosis of the disorder. The cultural differences between the different groups have a role to play in the way they access care and how the disorders are diagnosed. When an individual shows the signs of the disorder, the way those around him or her will react depends on the culture within which they are raised. The reason explains why while the Caucasians will turn to immediate medical care, the Hispanics might take time trying to understand the root cause of the disorder and other cultural explanations. Hence, for the former, there will be timely diagnosis, while the former will experience delayed identification and treatment of the disorder.
Norbury & Sparks (2013) indicate the cultural role in the conceptualization of disorders that affect different people in society. The social and medical models of diseases continue to affect the translation of the conditions affecting individuals in the modern society. While the western (medical) model of care might come easy for the whites, the same cannot be said for other cultural groups, some who are committed to the social model of disease. The western model of care is based on the belief in the medical care for all medical conditions. Following the model diagnosis is a reflection of a psychobiological dysfunction in the body. Hence, it is critical to establish that part that is not functioning as it should for the purpose of treatment. However, other cultural groups such as the African Americans do not always have to follow this fixed medical model of diagnosis and treatment. They take into account other potential reasons for the disorders, including spiritual, with a huge impact on their propensity to seek medical care when their children are suffering from a developmental disorder. Their cultural care seeking behaviors have an effect on the timely and effective diagnosis of the disorders.
Prevalence Rates
The role of gender
Particularly for the disorders that are diagnosed during the onset of puberty, gender has been revealed to play a major role in their prevalence. The appearance of the disorders in girls tends to differ from the same in boys. Douglas and Scott (2014) indicated that for bipolar and depressive disorders, gender has a central role in the prevalence. The disorders tend to affect more girls than boys. However, it is critical to note that the different in prevalence is also mediated by the age at which the diagnosis is made. While more girls than boys suffer from depressive disorders during and post-puberty, before the age of 12, more boys than girls are likely to show the symptoms of depression and mania. Another important evidence point to the reality that the differences based on gender are also dependent on the particular disorder in question. Eating disorders are among the disorders that vary across gender, with more girls than boys being affected Marques, et al. (2011). The prevalence of the disorder also varies across different race/ethnic groups.
The Role of Race/Ethnicity and Culture
The prevalence rate of psychological and development disorders among children and adolescents have been showed to vary across racial and cultural backgrounds. Evidently, children in some cultures have a higher prevalence rate of the disorders than others. The explanation for this fact has been the focus of a number of studies. A study investigated the differences in the prevalence rates of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Siegel et al., 2016). The study used the data available on the treatment of the disorder from the New York State public mental health system (NYS PMH). The information obtained from the system indicated that there is a considerably high rate of the disorder among the Hispanics or blacks compared to whites. It was also indicated that the blacks are most probable compared to white to get a diagnosis of ADHD. The results of the study have indicated that possibility of the rate of the blacks with the disorder being more than the whites in contrast to some data provided in National studies.
Eating disorders are another group of disorders with an impact on the lives of children, but mostly adolescents. Marques et al. (2011) carried out the study to compare the prevalence of the disorders among Latinos, Asians, and African Americans in the US to non-Latino Whites. The results of the study indicated a similarity, across all the studied groups, in the prevalence of anorexia nervosa (AN) and binge-eating disorder (BED). However, among the Latinos and African Americans, there was a higher prevalence rate of bulimia nervosa (BN). However, the same research indicated that in the long term, the prevalence rate of BED was higher among the blacks and Latinos. The possible reason for the difference is the access to long term care for the ethnic/racial minority groups in the country. Overall, there is an evident high rate of the eating disorders amongst the groups that face barriers in access to health care.
Treatment
The Role of Gender
Gender plays a key part in the treatment of different developmental and childhood disorder. As indicated by Scott (2014), the gender of the patient is critical in the way the disorder manifests itself and in the diagnosis. Hence, it is a fact that the provider of health care will not provide services using the same model for the different genders. The society within which the disorder manifests itself is a gendered one, which means that the approach to treatment should assume the same model of care. The fact that the disorders manifest differently for the two genders is enough reason to approach them differently. For example, a boy suffering from a depressive disorder will require a different treatment from a girl suffering from the same condition. The disorders might be the same, but the reality that their gendered manifestations come to play means that they should be treated differently. Again, the issues that affect one gender, particularly during puberty, are very diverse.
The Role of Race/Ethnicity and Culture
There is a possibility that treatment for mental and developmental disorders depend on the ethnic/racial positioning of the person receiving the diagnosis. There have been some national studies that have showed a higher rate of diagnosis of ADHD among the whites compared to blacks. However, there is a likely explanation of the results that indicate the contrary; that the rates are higher among the minority races than whites. The account is that the white children get timely diagnosis and more effective treatment compared to those from the marginalized races. The whites are showed to have multiple access points to care. They also have better medical covers that guarantee them timely treatment for developmental disorders. Cultural factors have an impact on the way the blacks and Hispanics access care for different medical conditions (Siegel et al., 2016). Therefore, when studies are carried out later in life, the whites are showed to have a lower rate of the disorders, even if this might not mirror the actual situation.
Bailey & Owens (2005) provided similar findings indicating the reality that the rates of ADHD are similar among the whites and the African Americans. The problem emerges in the diagnosis and treatment of the African Americans. While the whites tend to get timely diagnosis and treatment, the same cannot be said for the minority population. Cultural and other barriers to treatment are identified among the blacks, providing a possible explanation for the disparity. In most cases, the white children get timely treatment for ADHD which is controlled as they become older. On the contrary, the blacks do not get the same treatment and the disorder continues to progress. By the time a diagnosis is made and treatment started, the disorder will have progressed to a level that is challenging to manage. The blacks tend to have a cultural explanation for the disorders which impact there tendency to seek care in time to control the condition.
Conclusion
Many developmental disorders have an impact on children and adolescents. Both internalizing (such and depression) and externalizing (such as ADHD) disorders have both cultural and gendered explanations. The elements are manifested in their diagnosis, prevalence and treatment. The manner in which the disorder is identified and treated by a medical care provider has a lot to do with the gender and the cultural background of the patient. The factors, especially ethnic/racial background, play a crucial role in the help seeking behavior of the patient of the care givers. The reason explains why some racial/ethnic groups have the tendency to seek immediate care than others. It is also the fact behind the higher prevalence of the disorders among some cultural groups compared to others. It is not because some people are more prone to the disorders than others, but the difference is because of the diversity in their reactions to the disorders. Cultural and gender diversity continue to hold an important place in the way people receive care, including the early in life when many are dealing with developmental challenges.
References
Bailey, R.K & Owens, D.L. (2005). Overcoming Challenges in the Diagnosis and Treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in African Americans, Journal of the National Medical Association 97(10), 5S-10S
Comparative Prevalence, Correlates of Impairment, and Service Utilization for Eating Disorders Across US Ethnic Groups: Implications for Reducing Ethnic Disparities in Health Care Access for Eating Disorders, Int J Eat Disord, 44, 412–420
Douglas, J. & Scott J. (2014). A systematic review of gender-specific rates of unipolar and bipolar disorders in community studies of pre-pubertal children. Bipolar Disord 16, 5–15.
Marques, L., Alegria, M., Becker, A.E., Chen, C., Fang, A., Chosak, A. & Diniz, J.B. (2011)
Norbury, C.F. & Sparks, A. (2013). Difference or Disorder? Cultural Issues in Understanding Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Developmental Psychology, 49(1), 45–58
Rothe, E. M. (2005). Considering Cultural Diversity in the Management of ADHD in Hispanic Patients, Journal of the National Medical Association (97)10, 17S-22S
Siegel, C.E., Laska, E.M., Wanderling, J.A., Hernandez, J.H. & Levenson, R.B. (2016) .Prevalence and Diagnosis Rates of Childhood ADHD Among Racial-Ethnic Groups in a Public Mental Health System, Psychiatric Services 67(2), 199-205