An Ethnographic-Discursive Approach to Parental Self-Help Groups: The Case of ADHD

Qual Health Res. 2016 Jun;26(7):935-50. doi: 10.1177/1049732315586553. Epub 2015 May 18.

Abstract

Mutual aid groups have become a common form of help in the mental health field. Although self-help groups are associated with a range of health and social benefits, they remain poorly understood in terms of the dynamics of their interactions. Adopting an ethnographic-discursive approach, we conducted a 6-month observation of the meetings of a self-help group of parents with children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to analyze the discursive dynamics of the interactions that characterized the group. Using a set of discursive strategies and practices, the parents promoted a homogeneity of viewpoints and experiences within the group and constructed a shared and consensual narrative to endorse a specific understanding of ADHD. The production of both homogeneity within the group and a shared narrative served to absolve parents of guilt, helped parents to signify their experience within a blaming social context, and preserved their identities as "good parents."

Keywords: Italy; attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); discourse analysis; ethnography; group interaction; knowledge construction; qualitative; self-help.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Anthropology, Cultural
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / psychology*
  • Child
  • Female
  • Guilt
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Parenting / psychology
  • Parents / psychology*
  • Self-Help Groups*