Is ADHD skyrocketing among young people? Experts think not

Euronews

3 days ago

Health experts and parents have been raising the alarm about a surge in ADHD cases, particularly among young people – but the increase appears to have tapered off in recent years.
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common mental disorders, affecting an estimated 8 per cent of children and teenagers. Worldwide, around 366 million adults have ADHD, with symptoms including trouble focusing, restlessness, and impulsivity.
But a new analysis, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, suggests the apparent recent uptick in ADHD cases may be more due to recognition than reality.
It looked at 40 studies on ADHD from 2020 onward. While there were major gaps in data, the highest-quality studies found no significant increase in the overall prevalence of ADHD in that time.
They also found no meaningful increase in new diagnoses from 2020 to 2024, though they have been trending upward in recent decades.
Researchers also noted that a growing number of people are getting tested and seeking support for ADHD.
'Our best evidence suggests the true rate of ADHD isn't increasing that much,' Philip Shaw, director of the King's Maudsley Partnership for Children and Young People, told journalists.
'My hunch is there's such a huge awareness of ADHD that it's often used as… the way young people express they are struggling at school and need help,' added Shaw, who was not involved with the new study.
Researchers said the longer-term increase in ADHD cases is likely due to some combination of 'catch-up' diagnoses among people whose conditions were not detected when they were young, as well as changes to how ADHD is diagnosed, pandemic-era disruptions, social media, and other unknown reasons.
Some have proposed that constant stimulation from social media and mobile phones – which has earned young people the title of the 'distracted generation' – could be driving an increase in ADHD.
A 2023 study, for example, found a link between ADHD symptoms and excessive social media use, smartphone dependence, and internet addiction.
But not all attention problems are ADHD, and 'it's too early to say what's causing what here,' Shaw said. 'We don't know what's the chicken and what's the egg'.
Researchers said more studies are needed to confirm whether more people are actually developing ADHD than in the past, or if they are simply more likely to be diagnosed.
'We should be looking at these questions… and I think that is what's happening,' Shaw said.
A growing number of people are turning to chatbots such as ChatGPT for support with their personal problems.
According to a Harvard report, the demand for AI tools in 2025 suggests a paradigm shift.
Previously, these tools were primarily used for technical purposes; however, as they have become more widely adopted, emotional support and personal development have garnered increased attention.
Rita Marcelino, an IT consultant, and João Aranha, a business development representative, are two young people who turn to ChatGPT for help when they face difficult situations.
Marcelino says she uses it "to combat some nervousness or to help me gain confidence before important moments such as a job interview, a presentation or even to structure thoughts when I feel more indecisive".
Aranha explains that the chatbot's "immediate" availability is an advantage, as using it doesn't require "an appointment".
"Like so many people of my generation, when I have a problem I want to solve it on the spot," he adds.
Asked about the possibility of AI tools replacing psychotherapy, clinical psychologist Ana Rita Oliveira admits that chatbots can, in certain contexts, provide some kind of support in gathering information about managing emotions.
She notes, however, that "therapeutic techniques and strategies are accessible to everyone, they're just a click away, but in psychotherapy, change is based on the relationship between the patient and the psychologist".
Although Marcelino and Aranha use ChatGPT to deal with some challenges, they both also have therapy sessions with a certified psychologist, and describe the two experiences as "completely different".
Aranha believes that the main difference is control, arguing that he is better able to control the "session" held with the chatbots.
"The outcome of the conversation with ChatGPT always depends on our input, i.e. we're talking to someone who says and does what we want. A psychologist, on the other hand, has the ability to turn us round, cut off our train of thought and divert our attention whenever they want," he says.
The increasing use of AI tools has led users, particularly young people, to self-diagnose.
Online self-diagnosis is not new. However, chatbots allow people to ask questions about symptoms, illnesses and treatments, with personalised answers given in seconds.
Oliveira, the psychologist, says some of her patients have arrived at their psychotherapy sessions convinced of their diagnosis, following online research they had done themselves.
"We have to know how to filter what we read. Reaching a diagnosis involves much more than a process of checking symptoms. It involves assessing various dimensions of the individual and this may require human contact," she says.
Oliveira is sceptical of the role that AI can play in therapy, saying that the use of such tools "exclusively harms the therapeutic process for patients" and "can lead to the work of psychologists being discredited".
"I question whether this need for emotional support will ever be met purely through AI. If we have this need, it's because we feel this lack in the relationships we establish in our lives," she says.