10/16 ADHD in the 2020s: Overdiagnosed, Overlooked, or Finally Understood?

Devon Tonneson
Oct 15
2 min read

Over the past decade, rates of ADHD diagnosis have increased substantially across the United States and globally. This surge has sparked debate within both scientific and public communities: Are clinicians overdiagnosing ADHD, or are we finally recognizing it in populations historically overlooked - particularly women, students of color, and adults?

This session will take a scientific and sociocultural look at ADHD’s evolving diagnostic landscape. We will examine data from recent clinical and epidemiological studies to understand how awareness, telehealth expansion, and post-pandemic burnout have shaped identification trends. Discussion will also address disparities in recognition, gender and racial bias in clinical assessment, and the implications of “self-diagnosis culture” in digital spaces.

Topics to be discussed include:

Evidence-based trends in ADHD diagnosis and treatment (Hinshaw & Scheffler, Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 2023).
Neurobiological underpinnings of attention and executive function deficits.
The role of social media, telemedicine, and public awareness campaigns in shaping symptom perception and self-identification.
Persistent diagnostic inequities among women, BIPOC individuals, and low-income populations (Capusan et al., European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2021).
Differentiating ADHD from trauma-related and chronic illness–related executive dysfunction.
Ethical and clinical considerations surrounding self-diagnosis and overpathologization.

Suggested Readings:

Hinshaw, S. P., & Scheffler, R. M. (2023). The ADHD Explosion Revisited: What We’ve Learned and Where We’re Going. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 19, 657–684.
Capusan, A., et al. (2021). Ethnic disparities in ADHD diagnosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 30(6), 863–874.
Gibson, J., & Cartwright, C. (2019). Young women and ADHD: “It’s like there’s something wrong with you.” Feminism & Psychology, 29(4), 453–470.
Mackenzie, J., & McNicholas, F. (2022). Social media and ADHD: The good, the bad, and the algorithm. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics, 31(1), 49–63.