"Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is harder to detect in girls than in boys. Julia Schechter, a clinical psychologist at the Duke Center for Girls & Women with ADHD in Durham, North Carolina, explains why girls with ADHD are harder to diagnose, and how undiagnosed girls face higher risks of bad outcomes than boys do, ranging from relationship issues to eating disorders and self-harm."
"In the past couple of years, there has been a rise in the number of women who have requested assessment and been diagnosed with ADHD. This means that the diagnosis rate in adult women is about the same as in men. However, there is a big discrepancy in diagnosis rates in children. The ratio differs depending on the study, but there are at least two to three times as many boys diagnosed with ADHD as girls."
"In girls and women, ADHD tends to show up as inattentiveness - that is, difficulty remaining focused on a task, getting easily distracted or having trouble with organizing. Boys and men with ADHD, by contrast, characteristically display hyperactivity and impulsivity: they often fidget and have trouble staying seated. Girls can also have these symptoms, although they are less commonly reported. The latest research suggests that hyperactive behaviours in girls can show up as hyper-verbal tendencies, such as being excessively talkative."
ADHD often presents differently in girls, with inattentiveness, distractibility, and organizational difficulties more common than overt hyperactivity. Adult diagnosis rates between women and men are now similar due to increased assessments, but children remain underdiagnosed: studies report at least two to three times more boys diagnosed. Girls may display hyperactivity as excessive talking and frequently mask symptoms because of social pressures, which reduces visibility to others. Co-occurring psychiatric conditions further obscure detection. Undiagnosed girls face higher risks of relationship difficulties, eating disorders, and self-harm. Increased awareness of gendered presentation is essential for timely identification.
Read at Nature
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