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Navigating School, Social Life and Identity: Perceptions of Adolescent Girls With ADHD
Umeå University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology.
2025 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

More and more people are being diagnosed with ADHD. Considering this increasing number of diagnoses, it is important to look at social factors that may have an impact. ADHD is a well-researched disorder from a medical perspective but there is little research on ADHD related to identity; and additionally, research of girls with ADHD. This study takes a sociological approach and explores how adolescent girls construct their identities in relation to school and free time. Moreover, medical sociology is used to explore aspects of ADHD in this context. Ten interview transcripts were coded and analysed using thematic analysis. The material is analysed with the concept of social identity as well as social psychological theories about identity: Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical perspective and George Herbert Mead’s Me and I as well as the generalized other. Four themes were developed: 1) Adjusting and suppressing behaviour, 2) The complexity of identifying with ADHD, 3) Struggles in the school environment and 4) The unattainability of free time. The results suggest that ADHD is often detected in the school environment and that interventions and treatment are encouraged from school. Furthermore, adolescent girls with ADHD actively hide their personality to function in school and gain other people’s approval. Moreover, it is difficult to construct multiple identities in other areas of life, such as free time activities, because school consumes so much energy; there is a school Me and an ADHD Me which struggle to coexist. The school Me sometimes requires taking central stimulant medicine; the medicine is described as something used almost solely for the purpose of managing school. This is followed by a discussion about how society's expectations affect diagnoses and medical intervention of ADHD. The results also suggest that identifying with ADHD is complex; it is by many participants considered something to be proud of while in many situations they feel the need to suppress or hide it. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025. , p. 47
Keywords [en]
ADHD, identity, school, free time, medical sociology
National Category
Social Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-234647OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-234647DiVA, id: diva2:1931786
Subject / course
Sociology
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iADHDAvailable from: 2025-02-03 Created: 2025-01-27 Last updated: 2025-02-03Bibliographically approved

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Navigating School, Social Life and Identity: Perceptions of Adolescent Girls with ADHD(706 kB)86 downloads
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86ada4b4042e1fb16c8f25114119f4ccc1eac802f6335f7f689dca39d5e74a85a46d6f4e16cfc634730c69ad3f935a7a85b9648833f9f8375bc2d4250de06ed0
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CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

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Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
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More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
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  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
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More languages
Output format
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  • asciidoc
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