Professor Stephen Hinshaw, his colleagues, and students focus primarily on two areas of research: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), as part of a larger focus on developmental psychopathology; and the Stigmatization of Mental Illness.
ADHD Research
The aim of Professor Hinshaw’s research on ADHD has been to study the assessment, long-term symptom trajectory, and treatment of ADHD. From 1991 to 1999 at Berkeley, and for years prior to that at UCLA, Professor Hinshaw conducted yearly research summer camp programs for children with ADHD (also including normative comparison children). These programs provided a wonderful opportunity to observe social relationships, ADHD symptoms, comorbid psychopathology, and classroom behaviors in a naturalistic setting. Research participants from these summer programs have continued to be assessed and studied over time, such that Dr. Hinshaw’s research group has been able to observe these participants and document their progress over a 10-year (and counting!) period. The ongoing studies related to these summer programs include the Girls 10-Year Follow-Up Study of ADHD and the Multimodal Treatment Study of ADHD.
In collaboration with Dr. Linda Pfiffner at UC San Francisco, Professor Hinshaw is also conducting a treatment study for school-aged children with the ADHD, Predominantly Inattentive type (ADHD-I). This study, the Child Life and Attention Skills Project (CLAS), is examining a psychosocial intervention for children with ADHD-I. This intervention combines parent skills training, teacher consultation, and child skills training to target the diverse areas in which children with ADHD-I suffer impairments. This study has just been completed and the results will be published as soon as possible. Click here for more information.
Stigmatization of Mental Illness
Professor Hinshaw has written two books and a number of research articles on the pernicious effects of stigmatization of mental illness on individuals, families, and society as a whole. He and his students currently are using various methods, such as experimental, narrative, and survey, to examine how individuals and groups develop stigmatized views of people with mental illness. They are also investigating how these perspectives lead to false beliefs, negative opinions, and differential treatment toward individuals with mental illness. Also under investigation in this research group is how children and adults with a psychological diagnosis respond to their own beliefs about mental illness, and how these beliefs affect self-concept and treatment utilization.
