Another key longitudinal study on girls , led by Harvard psychiatrist and scientist Joseph Biederman , has found that major depression in teen girls with ADHD is more than twice as common as in girls without the disorder .
The studies show that , as a group , girls with ADHD are also far more prone than boys with ADHD or other girls to self-harm , including cutting and burning themselves , and to suicide attempts . Moreover , whereas teenage boys with ADHD are more likely than girls with the disorder to abuse illegal drugs ,
the girls face a higher risk of becoming involved with violent partners .
Another major problem for girls with ADHD is risky sexual behavior that leads to strikingly high rates of unplanned pregnancies . Research has shown rates of more than 40 percent , versus 10 percent for young women without ADHD . In the most recent B-GALS update , published in 2019 , Hinshaw and UC Berkeley psychologist Elizabeth Owens linked unplanned pregnancies to lower academic achievement earlier in life .
“ Girls and women definitely blame themselves more on a daily basis ,” says Ellen Littman , a clinical psychologist in Mount Kisco , New York , who writes and speaks frequently about girls and women with ADHD . “ If boys do badly on a test , they might say , ‘ What a stupid test ,’ while girls tend to say , ‘ I ’ m an idiot .’ Girls have shame about feeling different , confused and overwhelmed , but they ’ re often very good at hiding it .”
Attention control
ADHD is conservatively estimated to affect more than 6
ADHD emerges from a suite of factors , including both biological and environmental influences . Discordant family and peer interactions and a poor fit in the educational environment can maintain and promote ADHD symptoms . million US children and 10 million adults . Most with the disorder have normal intelligence — although ADHD has been associated with slightly lowered IQ scores , Hinshaw thinks this is related to the way IQ is evaluated . Some with ADHD have super-high IQ scores , he says .
Many with ADHD describe an ability to focus intensely when interested , and value their creativity . ( The research on creativity , Hinshaw says , is mixed , leaving open the questions of whether ADHD
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