Gender Bias and Over Diagnosing ADHD

            With many topics wandering our minds it is a struggle choosing just one. We start off making a list and stick with the one that relates to us the most. This was my thought process when it came to choosing a topic for this assignment. I started off with about three different topics and decided that the topic I find most intriguing is the over diagnosing of boys versus girls regarding ADHD. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood”; meaning that it’s a disorder that can be diagnosed since childhood. This brings me to the question: why was I, along with many other girls, not diagnosed with ADHD until adulthood?

            My story is like that of many women who have been diagnosed with ADHD. I did not find out until it had already drove me into depression and anxiety. The thing with human nature, is that when a person has no idea what is going on with themselves, no clarity as to why their behaviors compared to others aren’t on the same spectrum, one begins to question themselves. Maybe I am just lazy. Maybe I don’t try hard enough because I just don’t care. Maybe what they said about me is true: I never want to take things seriously. I’m really a disappointment. It’s a choice. These are just a couple of the thoughts that have taken over my mind throughout my academic career and livelihood. Imagine the thoughts of other women who had no clarity and thought the same thing of themselves: that they were lazy and would never make it.

One may begin to think that the struggle of late diagnosing and over diagnosing is one that only Americans in the United States (US) are forced to deal with. The fact of the matter is that it isn’t. It’s a global issue that is debated constantly by groups of psychiatrists. There are even records of ADHD being over diagnosed in boys in Iran. Gender bias is the culprit behind the corruption of the diagnoses process of psychiatrist all over the world. A journal, which is a form of scholarly source, focused on the diagnosing process of Iranian doctors of both genders. It was found that psychiatrist where 2.45 times more likely to over diagnose boys than girls. Furthermore, it is mentioned that the reason for this gap is the differing symptoms that each gender displays; girls are found to display more inattentive symptoms while boys are found to be more disruptive. This is where the alignment to gender bias can be made. In the society that we live in and the norms of society, there is an expectancy when it comes to the behaviors of both genders. Girls are being taught to be quiet, obedient, and to always hold themselves together while boys are even encouraged to be disruptive. Boys will be boys, they say. Is it a surprise that the boys are disruptive and hyperactive when in fact the society we have lived and raised boys in, acts as an enabler for them to continue to do so?

The scholarly source being a journal made it even more reliable. With that in mind along with the statistics and other facts given, one can conclude the stance and tone of this source. The authors: Beheshti, Mira-Lynn, and Christiansen, introduced the discussion topic with the same template as that of a lab report which gives it an official look. Include the multitude of statistics and specifics regarding control groups and what-not, one can conclude that the authors chose to inform readers of the true numbers behind the diagnostics of ADHD. Readers were given evidence and the tone was not mean to be one of persuasion. Instead, the authors gave readers a more logical viewpoint, also known as logos.

It can be drawn that the over diagnosing as well as the lack of diagnosing when it comes to girls, has devastated consequences. Women with ADHD, especially those not having been diagnosed and been overlooked, tend to suffer from depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and even eating disorders. With this in mind, many have opened the topic up for discussion on a multitude of platforms, from newspapers, to journals, websites, and even magazines. The Talk of the Nation, a newspaper did just that. A psychiatrist, a host, and calls from women who have in one way, or another dealt with ADHD. One by one, the women shared their stories and the relationship they had with ADHD. For some, it was their children who were diagnosed and some of these mothers were diagnosed during their adulthood. These are compelling stories that were shared to show the disproportionality when it comes to diagnosing girls in comparison to boys. The psychiatrist mentions girls getting overlooked. The symptoms are apparent and noticed, but the correlation to ADHD is not made because of the difference in symptoms.

The issue with the disproportionality when it comes to the diagnosing of girls, begins at an institutional level. The blame is on the healthcare system. Being that it is a healthcare system, one would expect that it should be used to spread knowledge on different disorders and be used to be aware/keep up to date on patients and changes in behavior and such. Instead, there is little to no research that has been done on women affected by ADHD and its long-term effects. If the healthcare system doesn’t spread awareness on the topic, or any topic for that matter, it’s not likely that many will be on the lookout for that specific circumstance. Take Covid-19 and Omicron as an example. We owe it to the health care system as well as the CDC for guiding us and keeping us updated on the disease and ways to stay safe. If not, many more people would have died and there wouldn’t be any awareness on watching out for ourselves.

When it comes to bringing awareness and creating collaborations, the healthcare system and the education system should be creating many. With these collaborations comes the opportunity for the healthcare system to train teachers, administration and even parents about disorders and things to be on the lookout for. According to Morning Sign Out, this is the primary issue. Parents and teachers have no clue on what to be on the lookout for. Not only that, but even with doctor evaluations, boy diagnosis to girl diagnosis is 9:1. This is huge gap. The sharing of statistics is consistent with a source that wants to inform and provide readers with evidence-based facts.

The host of the broadcast Talk of the Nation is Allison Stewart, and she makes it a point to touch base on the lack of research that has been done. She even goes as far to mention someone needs to take the initiative: “I found myself just a little bit angry that there wasn’t more research about girls, and that all these young women and girls out there struggling with this problem, and there hasn’t been a whole lot of attention paid to it. What’s going to change that?”. The stance taken in this text much more obvious after she states this. Stewart uses more persuasive language compared to the other sources that were also in support of this topic. The distinct language also showcases one of the three rhetorical concepts, pathos.

Looking at all the evidence found, one can conclude that there is in fact over diagnosing of boys for ADHD and very little diagnosing for girls. Within the different sources used for this topic, there are also different tones, stances and methods being presented. From pathos to logos, the use of persuasion, and even statistics. All show the same point being made with different methods. With the language changes from source to source, one could tell those certain sources were meant for specific audiences. An example being the newspaper passage on the conversation between a psychiatrist, the host, and those affected by ADHD. This specific text pulling on the heart strings of those reading is meant for those out in the world also affected by the disorder; to just let them know that they aren’t alone and that there is a safe space to talk and share their life with the disorder, and to also receive advice.

Work Cited

1. Beheshti, Ashkan, et al. “ADHD Overdiagnosis and the Role of Patient Gender among Iranian Psychiatrists.” BMC Psychiatry, vol. 21, no. 1, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-021-03525-3.
2. “Diagnosis Can Miss ADHD Symptoms In Girls.” Talk of the Nation, 18 Nov. 2008. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A189231690/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=f4029174. Accessed 25 Feb. 2022.
3. “Study Findings from University of Marburg Provide New Insights into Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD overdiagnosis and the role of patient gender among Iranian psychiatrists).” Women’s Health Weekly, 11 Nov. 2021, p. 631. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A681529233/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=ada84665. Accessed 25 Feb. 2022.
4. Ajith, Gouri. “Morning Sign out at UCI.” Morning Sign Out at UCI, 17 Mar. 2018, https://sites.uci.edu/morningsignout/2018/03/17/the-gender-gap-bias-in-adhd-diagnosis/.