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Objective: This study examined the public's beliefs regarding the potential for harm to self and others and the public's willingness to invoke coercive or legal means to ensure treatment of children., Methods: Using data from the National Stigma Study-Children (NSS-C), which presented vignettes to 1,152 individuals, the investigators compared public perceptions of the dangerousness of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), major depression, asthma, and "daily troubles." Multivariate analyses were used to examine the predictors of perceptions of dangerousness and the willingness to support legally enforced treatment of these conditions., Results: Children with ADHD and children with major depression were perceived (by 33% and 81% of the sample, respectively) as somewhat likely or very likely to be dangerous to themselves or others, compared with children with asthma (15%) or those with "daily troubles" (13%). Over one-third of the sample (35%) were willing to use legal means to force children with depression to see a clinician. However, even more (42%) endorsed forced treatment for a child with asthma. Furthermore, individuals who labeled the child as "mentally ill" were approximately twice as likely to report a potential for violence and five times as likely to support forced treatment., Conclusions: Large numbers of people in the United States link children's mental health problems, particularly depression, to a potential for violence and support legally mandated treatment. These evaluations appear to reflect the stigma associated with mental illness and the public's concern for parental responsibility.

Objective: This study aimed to understand the level of public knowledge about attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), treatment preferences for the disorder, and their sociodemographic correlates., Methods: A short battery of questions about ADHD was included in the 2002 General Social Survey (N=1,139). In face-to-face interviews, respondents answered questions about whether they had heard of ADHD, what they knew about ADHD, their beliefs about whether ADHD is a "real" disease, and opinions about whether children with ADHD should be offered counseling or medication., Results: Just under two-thirds of respondents (64%) had heard of ADHD; most could not provide detailed information about the disorder. Women and those with higher levels of education were more likely to have heard of ADHD; African Americans, members of other nonwhite racial and ethnic groups, and older respondents were less likely to have heard of ADHD. Among respondents who had heard of ADHD, 78% said they believed ADHD to be a real disease; women, white respondents, and persons with higher income most often endorsed that belief. Most respondents (65%) endorsed the use of both counseling and medication, although counseling was endorsed as a sole treatment more often than medication. There were few sociodemographic differences in treatment preferences., Conclusions: The public is not well informed about ADHD. Future media and educational efforts should seek to provide accurate information about ADHD, with a special effort to reach specific populations such as men, nonwhite minority groups, and older Americans.