Song HL, Kong JD, Wang QL, Zhou CX. Gender identity and its impact on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder manifestations: Challenges in diagnosis and assessment. World J Psychiatry 2025; 15(4): 101952 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i4.101952]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Cai-Xia Zhou, PhD, College of Graduate Education, Shandong Sport University, No. 10600 Century Avenue, Licheng District, Jinan 250000, Shandong Province, China. zhoucaixia@sdpei.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Psychiatry
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Hao-Lin Song, Qing-Lu Wang, Cai-Xia Zhou, College of Graduate Education, Shandong Sport University, Jinan 250000, Shandong Province, China
Hao-Lin Song, School of Management, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhongshan 528400, Guangdong Province, China
Jian-Da Kong, College of Sports Science, Qufu Normal University, Jining 273100, Shandong Province, China
Jian-Da Kong, College of Sport and Health, Shandong Sport University, Jinan 250000, Shandong Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Jian-Da Kong and Cai-Xia Zhou.
Author contributions: Song HL wrote the main text; Wang QL handled proofreading and provided funding support; Zhou CX was responsible for content proofreading and the final version decision; Kong JD was responsible for topic design, manuscript proofreading, and the final version decision. Kong JD and Zhou CX are co corresponding authors and have made equal contributions to the manuscript.
Supported by the Central Guiding Local Science and Technology Development Fund Project, No. YDZX2022091.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Cai-Xia Zhou, PhD, College of Graduate Education, Shandong Sport University, No. 10600 Century Avenue, Licheng District, Jinan 250000, Shandong Province, China. zhoucaixia@sdpei.edu.cn
Received: October 2, 2024 Revised: January 12, 2025 Accepted: February 14, 2025 Published online: April 19, 2025 Processing time: 173 Days and 21 Hours
Abstract
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) turns into a common neuro progressional disorder. Although gender identity has obtained increasing attention in ADHD researches, its role in ADHD presentation and treatment response remains underexplored. Our review seeks to mainly delve into the effect of gender identity on ADHD, exploring the unique needs of individuals with various gender identities in the context of ADHD symptoms, diagnostic assessment, and treatment, with the goal of supplying theoretical support and practical recommendations for future research and clinical practice. The primary content includes, specifically: (1) Symptom expression differences: Gender identity significantly affects ADHD symptoms; male-identified individuals commonly perform worse in task orientation and attention stability, while female-identified individuals may demonstrate more variability in attention control and executive functions; (2) Diagnosis and treatment: Clinical practice generally neglects the impact of gender identity on ADHD management, with personalized needs of gender-identified individuals frequently not adequately addressed, potentially, affecting treatment outcomes; and (3) Future research directions: Future studies should further assess how gender identity affects the specific mechanisms of ADHD, conduct researches in multicultural contexts, and engage in long-term follow-up studies to evaluate the long-term impact of gender identity on ADHD progression. Besides, enhanced funding and public education on the relationship between gender identity and ADHD are needed to advance the field.
Core Tip: This review explores the impact of gender identity on the presentation of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The article highlights that gender identity plays a significant role in ADHD symptom expression, diagnostic assessment, and treatment response. Research shows notable differences between male- and female-identifying individuals in task orientation and attention stability, with clinical practice often overlooking the influence of gender identity on ADHD management. The review calls for future research to further investigate how gender identity affects the specific mechanisms of ADHD, especially through long-term studies in multicultural contexts. Additionally, it advocates for increased funding and public education to support personalized and equitable ADHD treatment.
