Naming the Deficit: Experiences of Living with ADHD Diagnosis from Childhood to Adulthood

Date

2026-1-14

Author

Ulusoy, Eylül

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Attention-Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a psychological disorder whose global prevalence has been increasing and can be diagnosed in both childhood and adulthood. How individuals experience ADHD diagnosis may vary according to relational and temporal contexts such as time of being diagnosed, which makes it important to explore the diagnosis in different contexts. The aim of this study is to examine how young adult men who were diagnosed with ADHD in childhood experience and make sense of their diagnosis. In addition, the study aims to explore how experiences related to the diagnosis are reflected within family relationships of individuals with ADHD. For this purpose, six participants were reached via purposive sampling technique, and a total of seven semi-structured interviews were conducted. The data obtained were analyzed by using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four superordinate themes emerged: (1) The Unknown Illness, (2) Framing ADHD Within the Family: Narratives, Legacies, and Changing Meanings, (3) ADHD: A Matter Rooted in Recognition, and (4) Between Feeling Less and Being More. The emerging themes were discussed through relevant psychological literature and Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, and the clinical implications of the study were explained.

Subject Keywords

ADHD, Experience of Being Diagnosed, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Lacanian Psychoanalysis

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/118332

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis