ADVERTISEMENT
Women With ADHD Report Lack of Control, More Stress, Relationship Difficulty
Women with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were found to have a harder time with social functioning, feel a lack of control, and feel a sense of relief following their diagnosis in adulthood, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Journal of Attention Disorders.
“Findings from the current review may indicate a need for further research into the topic of adult ADHD diagnosis in women,” noted authors Emma A. Climie, PhD, and Darby E. Attoe, BA, University of Calgary, AB, Canada. “Based on these findings, it is apparent that undiagnosed ADHD in childhood can have lasting negative consequences into adulthood.”
Related: No Evidence That Stimulants for Childhood ADHD Lead to Later Substance Use
Researchers pulled relevant research from Google Scholar, PsycINFO, and PubMed. Studies were included if they were more recent than 1997 and focused on adult women diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood. In total, 8 articles were examined that met these criteria and the results of each article were broken down into smaller units of meaning, referred to as codes, which researchers then grouped into categories forming themes.
Among the included articles, researchers found 4 common themes:
- Negative impacts on social emotional wellbeing. Women with ADHD were found to have higher stress and anxiety levels, more depressive episodes, and lower self-esteem than women without ADHD.
- Difficulty in relationships. The participants reported worse relationships with teachers, peers, and siblings, and perceived relationships more negatively than women without ADHD.
- Feeling out of control. Participants reported feeling out of control academically and in relationships and felt that chance events, luck, and powerful others had more control over their lives than they did.
- Self-acceptance after diagnosis. Of the included 8 studies, 6 reported participants feeling relief following their diagnosis and feeling more control over their symptoms afterward.
“Women and girls are too often suffering in silence, being left out of the ADHD narrative; it is imperative that these women are not forgotten,” authors concluded.
