Understanding (Gender) Bias in Psychiatric Diagnosis: The Case of ADHD
Abstract
Abstract Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is diagnosed more often in males than females. Recently, this gap has narrowed, a development often framed as overcoming gender bias. This framing rests on two problematic assumptions: (1) more equal diagnostic rates approximate truth and (2) there is such a truth in the first place. Assumption (1) is questionable because male populations are set as standard but potentially reflect overdiagnosis. Assumption (2) presumes ADHD to be a stable, discrete disease entity, which is epistemically and ontologically problematic. I argue that understanding (gender) bias here should focus on deviations from best practices and deliberative norms rather than a relation to truth.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Neuroethics
Human Enhancement
Biomedical Innovations
Pain Management and Placebo Effect
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Philosophy of Science
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Volume
- 93
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1–21
- Publication date
- 26 May 2026
- Language
- EN