Social Science Research Project

A Look at ADHD and Self-Esteem from a Psychological Perspective

Melissa Seaward

Mrs. Bright

INTRODUCTION

Introduction
The goal of this social science research paper was to examine how self-esteem affects those with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD is very common in society today and can affect one’s life in many different ways. This paper will focus on self-esteem related to ADHD and will answer several questions such as: “Do those with ADHD think less of themselves and always expect failure?”, “What are some of the factors relating to the reason many of those with ADHD have a low self-esteem?”, “Do those with ADHD naturally have low self-esteem or is it gained as they grow up depending on how they are raised and the kind of people they are around?” and “Do those with ADHD tend to have a lower self-esteem than those without the disorder?” The hypothesis is that many of those with ADHD have low self-worth/self-esteem due to their lack of knowledge of self, with respect to their disorder, thus empowering them with knowledge and strategies to self-regulate behaviour will assist to assess sound settings and with impulse control which overall will lead to improved self-esteem.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature Review ADHD is common among people all around the world. Due to this there are many rumors going around about what those with ADHD are like, how others see them and much more. One of the most common questions about ADHD is related to if those with the disorder are said to have a heightened risk of developing “low self-esteem” or if this is just a myth. Do those with ADHD think less of them self and always expect failure? What are some of the factors relating to the reason many of those with ADHD have a low self-esteem? Do those with ADHD naturally have low self-esteem or is it gained as they grow up depending on how they are raised and the kind of people they are around? Do those with ADHD tend to have a lower self-esteem than those without the disorder? After having looked at some research done by others, the answers to these questions can been found. In order to answer the question “Do those with ADHD think less of them self and always expect failure?” one must become familiar with the topic and some research has to be done. This question is answered by Flick. G. L. (1998), “Children with ADHD often feel badly about themselves. They might think they're stupid, naughty, bad or a failure. Not surprisingly, their self-esteem takes a battering and they find it hard to think anything positive or good about themselves.” (Flick, 1998) Those with the disorder are impulsive and tend not to think about consequences. They tend to do things they know they shouldn’t and get in trouble more often than others. This leads to them thinking worse about them self, due to all the negative comments they receive. The second question needed to be answered to understand more about self-esteem and ADHD is “What are some of the factors relating to the reason many of those with ADHD have a low self-esteem?” There are many different reasons as to why those with ADHD have a low self-esteem. It could be due to the type of environment they grew up in, the kind of people they grew up around, not understanding why they do some of the things they do, frustration, and much more. According to Reiff, M.I. (2011), those with ADHD do these things for a reason. “The behavior is a result of the child’s frustration at not understanding what the rest of the class understands, their difficulty not being understood by the teacher, and as a consequence a low self-esteem.”
A question that most people ask, “Do those with ADHD naturally have a low self-esteem or is it gained as they grow up depending on how they are raised and the kind of people they are around?” has been answered by two people, Ari Tuckman, PsyD, and Joseph M. Carver, Ph.D. Ari Tuckman (2012) had two statements, “Attention