Date
8-29-2025
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
Chair
Florin Coltea
Keywords
ADHD, delinquent behaviors, anxiety, boys, overdiagnosis, misdiagnosis, retrospective, Wender Utah Rating Scale, Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Delinquent Behavior Scale, Ritalin
Disciplines
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Cooper, Michael A., "Is the Misdiagnosis of ADHD and the Use of Ritalin Related to Delinquent Behaviors and Problems with Social Anxiety Disorder in Young Boys?" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7354.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7354
Abstract
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses are increasing at a rapid rate. Young boys are known to be very energetic, inattentive, and lack the attention needed to function well in school or other venues, and based on these attributes, they often have a higher rate of diagnosis of ADHD than girls. The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental, comparative study was to assess the validity of retrospectively examining ADHD misdiagnosis and associated Ritalin use. Specifically, how proposed childhood misdiagnosis of ADHD was related to delinquent behaviors and social anxiety in adolescence and adulthood was examined. Results showed over half of the participants (n = 66), who were diagnosed with ADHD, tested retrospectively as not having ADHD. There was a statistically significant difference in the delinquency behavior scores between the those that retrospectively scored to have ADHD (M = 16.71, SD = 4.799) and the group who did not retrospectively test to have ADHD (M = 19.89, SD = 7.666), t(126) = -2.796, p ≤ .001. There was a statistically significant difference between the ADHD group’s social anxiety scores (M = 50.85, SD = 7.911) and the participants who did not score high enough to get an ADHD label group’s social anxiety scores (M = 43.09, SD = 14.951), t(126) = 3.628, p ≤ .001. In conclusion, based on retrospective diagnosis, it seems that there may have been an overdiagnosis of Ritalin. Furthermore, those who were retrospectively assessed to not have ADHD had higher delinquent behavior scores and lower social anxiety scores those who were retrospectively assessed to have ADHD. The implications of the findings of this study can inspire further research on the subject of ADHD and Ritalin, and subsequent behavioral effects.
