Abstract
The current study examined ADHD stigma within a college-enrolled young adult population, including the debate regarding the cause of stigma: label or behavior. In Phase 1, 135 college students rated stigma toward one of the four fictitious partners described as having either: the label of ADHD alone, the behaviors associated with ADHD alone, the label of ADHD and a set of behaviors associated with ADHD, or neither the label nor behaviors. In Phase 2, 48 college students rated stigma toward one of the two assigned fictitious partners described as having either: the label of ADHD and a set of behaviors associated with ADHD, or the label of Depression and a set of behaviors associated with Depression. It was hypothesized that the interaction between the label and the behaviors would cause the highest levels of ADHD stigma and that ADHD would elicit more stigma than Depression. In Phase 1, stigma was associated with the behaviors of ADHD, but not the label. In Phase 2, ADHD and Depression were found to be equally stigmatized. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Angermeyer MC, Matschinger H (2003) The stigma of mental illness: effects of labeling on public attitudes towards people with mental disorder. Acta Psychiatr Scand 108:304–309. doi:10.1034/j.1600-0447.2003.00150.x
Aragonès E, Piñol J, Labad A (2006) The overdiagnosis of depression in non-depressed patients in primary care. Fam Pract 23(3):363–368. doi:10.1093/fampra/cmi120
Barkley RA, Murphy KR, Fischer M (2008) ADHD in adults: what the science says. Guilford Press, New York
Ben-Porath DD (2002) Stigmatization of individuals who receive psychotherapy: an interaction between help-seeking behavior and the presence of depression. J Soc Clin Psychol 21:400–413. doi:10.1521/jscp.21.4.400.22594
Brown SA (2012) The contribution of previous contact and personality traits to severe mental illness stigma. Am J Psychiatr Rehabil 15(3):274–289. doi:10.1080/15487768.2012.703553
Bruchmüller K, Margraf J, Schneider S (2012) Is ADHD diagnosed in accord with diagnostic criteria? Overdiagnosis and influence of client gender on diagnosis. J Consult Clin Psychol 80(1):128–138. doi:10.1037/a0026582
Canu WH, Newman ML, Morrow TL, Pope DLW (2008) Social appraisal of adult ADHD: stigma and influences of the beholder’s Big Five personality traits. J Atten Disord 11:700–710. doi:10.1177/1087054707305090
Chew BL, Jensen SA, Rosen LA (2009) College students’ attitudes toward their ADHD peers. J Atten Disord 13:271–276. doi:10.1177/1087054709333347
Corrigan P (2004) How stigma interferes with mental health care. Am Psychol 59:614–625. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.59.7.614
Corrigan PW, River P, Lundin RK, Wasowski KU, Campion J, Mathisen J, Kubiak MA (2000) Stigmatizing attributions about mental illness. J Community Psychol 28:91–102. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1520-629(200001)28:1<91:AID-JCOP9>3.0.CO;2-M
Crocker J, Major B, Steele C (1998) Social stigma. In: Fiske S, Gilbert D, Lindzey G (eds) Handbook of social psychology, vol 2. McGraw-Hill, Boston, pp 504–553
Day EN, Edgren K, Eshleman A (2007) Measuring stigma toward mental illness: development and application of the mental illness stigma scale. J Appl Soc Psychol 37:2191–2219. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2007.00255.x
Dinos S, Stevens S, Serfaty M, Weich S, King M (2004) Stigma: the feelings and experiences of 46 people with mental illness. Br J Psychiatry 184:176–181. doi:10.1192/bjp.184.2.176
DuPaul GJ, Weyandt LL, O’Dell SM, Varejao M (2009) College students with ADHD: current status and future directions. J Atten Disord 13:234–250. doi:10.1177/1087054709340650
Evans SW, Owens JS, Bunford N (2014) Evidence-based psychosocial treatments for children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 43(4):527–551. doi:10.1080/15374416.2013.850700
Feldman DB, Crandall CS (2007) Dimensions of mental illness stigma: What about mental illness causes social rejection? J Soc Clin Psychol 26:137–154. doi:10.1521/jscp.2007.26.2.137
Green AL, Rabiner DL (2012) What do we really know about ADHD in college students? Neurotherapeutics 9(3):559–568. doi:10.1007/s13311-012-0127-8
Henderson C, Evans-Lacko S, Flach C, Thornicroft G (2012) Responses to mental health stigma questions: the importance of social desirability and data collection method. Can J Psychiatry 57(3):152–160
Hoza B, Mrug S, Gerdes AC, Hinshaw SP, Bukowski WM, Gold JA, Arnold LE (2005) What aspects of peer relationships are impaired in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Consult Clin Psychol 73:411–423. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.73.3.411
Jorm AF, Griffiths KM (2008) The public’s stigmatizing attitudes towards people with mental disorders: How important are biomedical conceptualizations? Acta Psychiatr Scand 118:315–321. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.2008.01251.x
Kobau R, DiIorio C, Chapman D, Delvecchio P (2009) Attitudes about mental illness and its treatment: validation of a generic scale for public health surveillance of mental illness associated stigma. Community Ment Health J 46:164–176. doi:10.1007/s10597-009-9191-x
Latner JD, Stunkard AJ, Wilson GT (2005) Stigmatized students: age, sex, and ethnicity effects in the stigmatization of obesity. Obes Res 13:1226–1231. doi:10.1038/oby.2005.145
Law GU, Sinclair S, Fraser N (2007) Children’s attitudes and behavioural intentions towards a peer with symptoms of ADHD: does the addition of a diagnostic label make a difference? J Child Health Care 11:98–111. doi:10.1177/1367493507076061
Link BG, Phelan JC (2001) Conceptualizing stigma. Annu Rev Sociol 27:363–385. doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.363
Link BG, Cullen FT, Frank J, Wozniak JF (1987) The social rejection of former mental patients: understanding why labels matter. Am J Sociol 6:1461–1500. doi:10.1086/228672
Link BG, Phelan JC, Bresnahan M, Stueve A, Pescosolido BA (1999) Public conceptions of mental illness: labels, cause, dangerousness, and social distance. Am J Public Health 89:1328–1333. doi:10.2105/AJPH.89.9.1328
Martin JK, Pescosolido BA, Olafsdottir S, McLeod JD (2007) The construction of fear: Americans’ preferences for social distance from children and adolescents with mental health problems. J Health Soc Behav 48:50–67. doi:10.1177/002214650704800104
O’Driscoll C, Heary C, Hennessy E, McKeague L (2012) Explicit and implicit stigma towards peers with mental health problems in childhood and adolescence. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 53:1054–1062. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2012.02580.x
Ohan JL, Visser TW, Moss RG, Allen NB (2013) Parents’ stigmatizing attitudes toward psychiatric labels for ADHD and depression. Psychiatr Serv 64(12):1270–1273. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.201200578
Pallanti S, Salerno L (2013) Pharmacological treatment and management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults. Minerva Psichiatr 54(4):297–315
Pescosolido BA, Fettes DL, Martin JK, Monahan J, McLeod JD (2007) Perceived dangerousness of children with mental health problems and support for coerced treatment. Psychiatr Serv 58:619–625. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.58.5.619
Piner KE, Kahle LR (1984) Adapting to the stigmatizing label of mental illness: foregone but not forgotten. J Pers Soc Psychol 47(4):805–811. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.47.4.805
Ramsay JR (2010) Nonmedication treatments for adult ADHD: Evaluating impact on daily functioning and well-being. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC
Ramsay JR, Rostain AL (2008) Adult ADHD research: current status and future directions. J Atten Disord 11(6):624–627
Reohrig JP, McLean CP (2010) A comparison of stigma toward eating disorders versus depression. Int J Eat Disord 43:671–674. doi:10.1002/eat.20760
Shaw-Zirt B, Popali-Lehane L, Chaplin W, Bergman A (2005) Adjustment, social skills, self-esteem in college students with symptoms of ADHD. J Atten Disord 8:109–120. doi:10.1177/1087054705277775
Sibley MH, Kuriyan AB, Evans SW, Waxmonsky JG, Smith BH (2014) Pharmacological and psychosocial treatments for adolescents with ADHD: an updated systematic review of the literature. Clin Psychol Rev 34(3):218–232. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2014.02.001
Walker JS, Coleman D, Lee J, Squire PN, Friesen BJ (2008) Children’s stigmatization of childhood depression and ADHD: magnitude and demographic variation in a national sample. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 47:912–920. doi:10.1097/CHI.0b013e318179961a
Yap MBH, Reavley N, MacKinnon AJ, Jorm AF (2013) Psychiatric labels and other influences on young people’s stigmatizing attitudes: findings from an Australian national survey. J Affect Disord 148:299–309. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2012.12.015
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thompson, A.C., Lefler, E.K. ADHD stigma among college students. ADHD Atten Def Hyp Disord 8, 45–52 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12402-015-0179-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12402-015-0179-9