Emerging adults’ identity and disclosure of ADHD in social relationships

This exploratory study utilized the concept of embodiment to examine how emerging adults with ADHD decide to disclose or hide their ADHD in social relationships and to what extent these decisions are influenced by perceptions of stigma and disability identity. Thus, the primary purpose of this paper is to study, from their embodied perspective, when and why emerging adults with ADHD disclose their diagnosis in social situations. The findings draw on qualitative data collected by online surveys of 60 emerging adults ages 18 to 29, most from the United States. The research questions were: (a) do emerging adults consider ADHD an important part of their embodied identity? (b) how do they decide to disclose? Participants explained the reasons for and the contextual way they approached disclosure decisions, especially in relationships, and made recommendations for others.

Responses suggest that decisions to disclose their diagnosis are intimately linked to their embodiment of ADHD and perceptions of mental illness stigma. Participants explicitly challenge the idea that they need to communicate consistently about their ADHD. Many expressed awareness of how their behaviors are often embodied differently than others, and this self-perception is part of the disclosure calculus.

Results also highlight Identification with ADHD as an important foreground factor, as almost all participants include ADHD into their identity.