Peter conrads identifying hyperactive children is at the same time a classic study of the labelling of deviant behaviour and a prescient view of what has since become a major social problem it remains the best sociological analysis of hyperactivity its reissue with an informative introduction and recent paper on adult adhd is welcome news for the sociology of deviance and social control allan horwitz rutgers university usa this book is a classic work in medical sociology it . This is a new and expanded edition of a classic case study in the medicalization of adhd originally published in 1976 the book centres on an empirical study of the process of identifying hyperactive children providing a perceptive and accessible introduction to the concepts and issues involved in this revised edition peter conrad sets the original study in context demonstrating the . Identifying hyperactive children the medicalization of deviant behavior ashgate classics in sociology cardiff papers in qualitative research author peter conrad edition illustrated revised. Identifying hyperactive children book read reviews from worlds largest community for readers. The medicalization of hyperactivity is one example of a larger phenomenon that is prevalent in society the medicalization of deviant behavior medicalization of deviant behavior is not entirely new it has been historically true for mental illness since the seventeenth century and even slaves who ran away were once considered to be suffering from the disease drapedomania there is a darker side to the medicalization of deviant behavior the four aspects of this side of the issue include