Identity work among girls with ADHD: struggling with <i>Me</i> and <i>I</i>, impression management, and social camouflaging in school.

ABSTRACT: The number of individuals diagnosed with ADHD is rapidly increasing in Sweden, with approximately two-thirds of diagnosed children being boys. However, among older adolescents, ADHD now appears to be more common among girls. Despite this, girls remain an understudied group. The purpose of this study was to explore how girls with ADHD described their identity work amid the tension between norms of socially appropriate female behavior (conceptualized as the Me) and their true selves (conceptualized as the I). Ten participants aged 15 to 18 years were included. A thematic inductive analysis was conducted, complemented by an abductive approach incorporating a dramaturgical perspective and the concepts of Me and I, impression management, and social camouflaging. The

SUBMITTER: Grimell J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12308699 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature