The Anthropologist’s Guide to the Female Experience of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – or ADHD – is a neurodevelopmental disorder that has been recognized in young boys for decades. Meanwhile, a significant part of the population has been suffering with it, often unknowingly, in silence. ADHD is one of the best-researched disorders in medicine, but only regarding boys, and there is a need for broader research on ADHD – especially in girls and women. Only within the past thirty years has diagnostic criteria been introduced that is inclusive of the experiences of the adult, and female, population. This study deals with the female experience of ADHD in 21st century Norway. This study also holds a second goal, which is to contribute to more research on ADHD within the anthropological discipline, Anthropological studies regarding ADHD in women are even tougher to come by.

This project is developed from an autoethnographic basis, as the project has been conducted by a woman with ADHD. In combination with the film “How Can I Explain To You What I Am Trying To Explain To You?” this thesis seeks to enable for an insight in to a lesser known reality of the disorder, as well as an insight into the challenges one can face when in a process of researching oneself.