Does ADHD Even Exist?

"A common sentiment is that ADHD is becoming overdiagnosed. There are numerous arguments for this position: On a bell curve of any human characteristic, like attention, there are going to be people in the lower region that perhaps don't need a distinct label. Many people with ADHD simply have another overlapping condition. For example, someone experiencing poor concentration and low motivation from a mood disorder may mistake it for ADHD."

"It's true we're seeing ADHD more often, and some of these arguments could explain some of the increase. However, can we claim that all ADHD diagnoses are false positives (not having ADHD but thinking you do)? If we become overly sceptical of the condition, will this increase the number of false negatives (having ADHD and thinking you don't)? How Was ADHD Viewed Traditionally? Little was said about ADHD in the early days of psyc"

ADHD diagnosis rates have increased, driven by multiple factors including natural variation in attention, comorbidity with mood and other disorders, cultural and digital environmental changes, identity and social incentives, and heightened awareness. These factors can cause false positives when non-ADHD difficulties are labelled as ADHD and false negatives when genuine ADHD is missed due to scepticism. Early psychological theory underemphasised ADHD, contributing to lasting scepticism. Despite diagnostic complexity, evidence supports a genuine ADHD subgroup, so careful assessment and attention to comorbidity are necessary to reduce misclassification.

Read at Psychology Today