A Neglected and Untreated Population: Addressing the Systemic Underdiagnosis of Females with ADHD

Abstract

ADHD is a neurobehavioral disorder that has been historically associated with young boys, although recent research has focused on bolstering the scarce selection of research on females with the disorder. I evaluated a large collection of articles that comprise the field’s current stance on the general topic and analyzed key points of consensus that arose. Boys are disproportionately diagnosed with ADHD, but this fact is likely due to a combination of factors that disadvantage girls’ diagnostic outcomes. Such factors include differences in symptom expression, the presence of comorbidities, gender norms, stereotypes, bias in diagnostic criteria, and the tendency to suppress symptoms to avoid public rejection. The complex interaction between these variables has led to a systematic neglect of females with ADHD that leaves many untreated and struggling with the sequelae.