Perceptions of ADHD Symptoms in Adolescents With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Attributions and Stigma

Abstract

This study investigated attributions and stigmatization self-perceptions of 40 adolescents with and 34 adolescents without ADHD for their problematic behaviors and ADHD as a disorder. Adolescents identified behaviors that they believed described them, indicated which of these behaviors was most problematic for them, and responded to a questionnaire regarding the extent to which this behavior was internally caused, controllable, pervasive, and stigmatizing. Compared to participants without ADHD, participants with ADHD endorsed more problematic behaviors including behaviors that are symptoms of ADHD, the impairment associated with ADHD, and commonly co-occurring disorders. They viewed the behavior that they identified as most problematic for them as more pervasive (stable and occurring in more contexts), uncontrollable, and stigmatizing than participants without ADHD. Adolescents with ADHD were less likely to view their most problematic behavior as pervasive and more likely to view it as stigmatizing than the disorder itself. Although adolescents with and without ADHD did not differ in the extent to which they attributed their most problematic behavior to internal causes, adolescents with ADHD were more likely to view the disorder itself as being caused by something inside them than their most problematic behavior.