Growing awareness of ADHD could be inadvertently prompting a wave of false self-diagnoses among young people, according to a significant new study. Researchers are warning that without careful intervention, educational efforts about the neurodevelopmental condition might lead many to mistakenly attribute common life struggles to ADHD.
The Unintended Consequences of Awareness
Researchers from the University of Toronto conducted a trial involving 215 young adults who did not meet the clinical criteria for ADHD and had no prior diagnosis. The study, led by Dasha Sandra, aimed to understand the impact of ADHD education.
Some participants were assigned to a workshop focused solely on ADHD awareness. Others attended a similar workshop that included an additional lesson about the 'nocebo effect' – where negative expectations about having a disorder can worsen a person's perception of their symptoms. This lesson specifically clarified that issues like irritability, fatigue, and poor concentration are normal experiences for many young people and are not exclusive signs of ADHD. A control group attended a workshop on sleep for comparison.
Stark Findings on Self-Perception
The results were revealing. Among those who received only the standard ADHD awareness information, the belief that they had the condition strengthened considerably. The number of participants who rated themselves highly in self-diagnosis jumped from 30% to 60% immediately after the lesson. This figure remained elevated at 50% a full week later.
However, for the group whose education included the context about the nocebo effect and the normality of certain struggles, false self-diagnosis rates were halved and disappeared completely after one week.
Ms Sandra emphasised the nuanced nature of the problem, stating, "Believing you have a disorder can help make sense of confusing or messy experiences that are actually completely normal. This could be especially true for young adults."
Balancing Awareness with Accurate Context
The study does not suggest that mental health awareness is negative. Instead, it highlights the critical need for refined and balanced educational materials. Ms Sandra pointed out that a false self-diagnosis can have serious consequences: it might prevent someone from receiving an accurate diagnosis for a different issue, stop them from addressing the real challenges in their life, and divert scarce NHS resources from those with an underlying neurodevelopmental condition that requires proper assessment.
"We're not saying that mental health awareness is uniformly bad. The positive benefits are well documented," Sandra clarified. "The key thing is how much awareness and what kind people should get. We wanted to identify whether there are negative effects of awareness efforts and find a way to raise awareness in a more balanced way."
This research comes at a critical time for the UK, where around 2.6 million people have ADHD. In March 2025, the NHS reported up to 20,000 new referrals for ADHD assessments, marking a 13.5% increase from the previous year.
Ms Sandra also addressed the complex landscape of ADHD diagnosis, noting, "It's documented that there is currently an overdiagnosis of ADHD. At the same time, awareness is growing because ADHD remains underdiagnosed in some populations, particularly women and adults." This paradox underscores the importance of the study's findings in shaping future public health education.
