Konkurrerande sanningar om ADHD - en svensk medieanalys

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study was to examine how different scientific truths create different perceptions and attitudes in Swedish articles. With the overall question: “What different points of view, descriptions and explanations of ADHD, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, do we see in the Swedish media through articles?”, we wished to address how the media responded to two different discourses, the biomedical and the psychosocial. Most people agree that ADHD does exist, but what defines it divides the scientific world. Who owns control of what science that should prevail? We have explored how articles in Swedish media describe ADHD. By analyzing the empirical material from a social constructivist perspective with focus on authority and knowledge together with language effects, we found that those with power within the profession have chosen which type of science that will dominate. This affects the language used by the media, which in turn affects the reader. Our findings suggests that the way science is presented in the media creates the perception of reality and what is right and wrong, even if this creates conflict within the different sciences.