{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T09:55:42Z","timestamp":1789984542872,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"Royal College of Psychiatrists","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,22]],"date-time":"2025-09-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1758499200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["cambridge.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Br J Psychiatry"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"S0007125025103760_as1\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Attention-deficit\/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is more commonly missed or diagnosed later in females than in males. One explanation is that diagnostic criteria have been informed by research primarily based on male samples and may not adequately capture the female presentation of ADHD.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0007125025103760_as2\">\n                    <jats:title>Aims<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study used a qualitative approach to better understand female ADHD in childhood, from the perspective of young women and non-binary adults with ADHD.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0007125025103760_as3\">\n                    <jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Twelve young adults (10 women and 2 non-binary individuals assigned female at birth, aged 18\u201325 years) with ADHD were interviewed to describe their lived experiences of ADHD throughout childhood. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and qualitatively analysed using the framework method, a codebook approach to thematic analysis.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0007125025103760_as4\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Participants reported experiencing a range of ADHD symptoms, some of which are not included in current diagnostic criteria. Four core themes were identified: (a) socially oriented and internalised symptoms, (b) social impacts, (c) masking and compensation and (d) the importance of context. Theme one describes how girls with ADHD may experience symptoms as more socially oriented (e.g. losing track of thoughts in a conversation), non-disruptive (e.g. doodling) and internalised (e.g. feeling frustrated) than those described by current diagnostic criteria. Theme two highlights the importance of social impacts of ADHD on friends, home and school. Theme three describes the desire to \u2018fit in\u2019 socially, behaviours and strategies used to mask symptoms and associated unfavourable consequences. Theme four highlights variability in symptoms across different environmental contexts.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0007125025103760_as5\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study suggests that the presentation of ADHD symptoms in girls may be socially oriented, internalised and especially influenced by the social context. Also, female ADHD symptoms may be less visible due to scaffolding, masking and context. Future research should consider whether current ADHD diagnostic criteria require adjustment, to aid earlier recognition and diagnosis of ADHD in children and young people, especially in females.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1192\/bjp.2025.10376","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,22]],"date-time":"2025-09-22T09:00:13Z","timestamp":1758531613000},"page":"775-782","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/policypage","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Reflections on the manifestation of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in girls from young adults with lived experiences: a qualitative study"],"prefix":"10.1192","volume":"227","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-1492-6160","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tamara","family":"Williams","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiff University"},{"name":"Cardiff 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University Health Board"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5295-4904","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tamsin","family":"Ford","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Cambridge"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5657-6995","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ann","family":"John","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiff University"},{"name":"Swansea University Medical School"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2050-4316","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kapil","family":"Sayal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Mental Health"},{"name":"University of Nottingham"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anita","family":"Thapar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiff University"},{"name":"Cardiff University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8911-3479","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joanna","family":"Martin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiff University"},{"name":"Cardiff University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"170","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"S0007125025103760_ref5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1673","DOI":"10.1176\/ajp.151.11.1673","article-title":"DSM-IV field trials for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents","volume":"151","author":"Lahey","year":"1994","journal-title":"Am J 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2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists","name":"copyright","label":"Copyright","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.","name":"license","label":"License","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This content has been made available to all.","name":"free","label":"Free to read"}]}}