Analysis of articles on differences of adhd symptoms between males and female children

In the article “ Sex differences in ADHD symptom severity”, Arnett and colleagues study how symptom severity varies amongst male and female children, and how each gender develops and copes with symptoms. It specifically looks to see if the behavioral and etiological features are the same in both sexes, which is important for my topic because my goal is to understand how both male and female children respond differently to the disorder. The study consisted of 2, 332 twin participants, aged eight to nineteen years of age. The case families had at least one twin who had been identified as having a history of ADHD symptoms, and in the control families, neither twin experienced ADHD symptoms. The results of the study reveal that ADHD had a higher prevalence in male children, in which they also experienced more severe symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity than females. Likewise, it was found that processing speed, inhibition, and working memory played a role in the sex difference of symptom severity.

This article is invaluable as it demonstrates how ADHD symptoms affect both males and females differently, and will explain why female children are diagnosed less often than males. One limitation that I found for this study was selection bias. Arnett et al., (2015) over selected participants for their community-based sample, which raises concern since participants were not classified as case individuals, and instead were identified through parent and/or teacher symptom ratings. It is possible that this resulted in an overage of ADHD symptoms for population estimates.

Overall, all APA guidelines were followed. Consent was obtained from parents and youth 18 and over (with minors providing written consent), testing was administered by experienced professionals, and all procedures were in compliance with the institutional review boards at the University of Denver and Colorado, Boulder.

The article “ Recognition and referral of girls with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Case vignette study” exemplifies how teachers would recognize the presence of ADHD in female children by analyzing symptoms. It involves a postal questionnaire study design, which includes a case study of a girl with the combined or mostly inattentive type of ADHD. Participants included 212 teachers from 40 randomly selected England schools.

Results revealed that the teachers misidentified problems relating to ADHD for troubles with attention or emotions. Likewise, they recognized the combined subtype more than inattentiveness and were less likely to refer the female case child for assessment. This analysis concluded that the teachers needed more improvement with recognizing the inattentive subtype. Some limitations of the study involve the non-use of the hyperactivity subtype and the absence of male participants, however I still think that it did what it was intended to do, and that was examine how teachers recognize different subtypes. Overall, all APA guidelines were followed with teachers being aware that the study involved the recognition of female ADHD symptoms. In addition, all confidentiality procedures was followed and the teachers’ identities remained anonymous. For example, the questionnaires only asked for gender, age, teaching experience, etc. This article will greatly help my paper with valuable information substantiating my supposition that males have higher rates of ADHD diagnosis because girls are more likely to have the inattentive subtype, which is not often recognized in the screening guidelines.

Both of the above articles that I submitted annotations for clearly substantiate the unique differences of ADHD symptoms between males and female children. Both approach the topic from different directions. In the first source, the research shows that male ADHD diagnosis are more prevalent because processing speed, inhibition, and working memory played a role in the sex difference of symptom severity. The second article addresses how a lack of teacher recognition in the inattentive subtype leads to underdiagnoses in female students. By exploring causation for the sex differences in ADHD symptom severity and lack of teacher recognition, I can demonstrate why males have a higher ADHD prevalence.