“So, what’s the actual strengths of having ADHD?”: Exploring resilience factors that support adolescent girls with ADHD to experience success at school.

The estimated prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and young people (CYP) in the UK is 5% (NHS England, 2024; Sayal et al., 2018). While there is evidence to suggest that ADHD is more likely to be diagnosed in boys than girls, this gap is lessening with increased awareness of gender differences in ADHD presentation (Hinshaw et al., 2022; Young et al., 2020). Despite this, evidence on the experiences of girls with ADHD is under-researched, with much of the previous literature exploring ADHD focusing on a deficit model (Climie & Mastoras, 2015; Edwards, 2022; Krtkova et al., 2022), with a lack of research directly considering what factors contribute to success. This research aimed to consider what resilience factors contribute to success at school for girls with ADHD. A multisystemic theory of resilience is drawn upon to support the exploration of how personal, relational and contextual resilience factors dynamically interact and contribute to how girls can overcome the challenges of ADHD to thrive at school (Ungar, 2021). This research adopted a two-phase design. In phase one, five adolescent girls, attending mainstream secondary schools in England, completed a semi-structured creative interview, using an adapted tree of life to explore their experiences and views of school. Using a thematic narrative approach, threads across each story identified that peer relationships, supportive school staff, identity development and personal strengths of creativity and perseverance played a significant role in their resilience and school success. In addition, gendered expectations, lack of understanding of ADHD in themselves and challenges related to stigma contributed to the barriers they experienced. In phase two, seven TAs who work at mainstream secondary schools completed a semi-structured interview to explore their experiences of supporting girls with ADHD and resilience factors contributing to girls with ADHD's success at school. A reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) was used to identify themes across interviews. Findings from phase two outline that TAs identified the importance of their role in building relationships, advocating and supporting in recognising and promoting strengths and self-esteem in girls with ADHD. Systemic barriers of limited training, lack of understanding of gender differences in ADHD and the rigidity of school systems contributed to barriers to both TAs themselves and girls with ADHD. Considering both phases together, these findings highlight the complexity of resilience factors for girls with ADHD, suggesting the need for a holistic, relational and identity-affirming environment to support girls with ADHD at school. In addition, these findings evidence the importance of further exploring the experiences of girls with ADHD and utilising a strengths-based approach to identifying factors that contribute to their success at school. The lack of recognition of ADHD in girls, the importance of peer, family and education staff relationships in promoting self-esteem is discussed, considering how these factors contribute to the academic, social and emotional experiences of girls with ADHD at school. The research concludes with implications and recommendations for educational psychology practice and school.<p></p>