Bound Volume Number
VI
Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-5-2015
Capstone Advisor
Dr. Kevin Antshel
Honors Reader
Dr. Leonard Newman
Capstone Major
Psychology
Capstone College
Arts and Science
Audio/Visual Component
no
Keywords
Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), stigma
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Social Sciences
Subject Categories
Personality and Social Contexts
Abstract
Previous research has examined both ADHD and public stigma as well as ADHD and malingering in college students. Nonetheless, to date, no research has examined all three variables simultaneously. To explore these relationships, we investigated college students’ opinions of ADHD and hypothesized that there will be a hierarchical pattern of public stigma: typical college students will report the most while college students with ADHD will report the least and the malingering group will fall between the two. The participants consisted of 106 undergraduate students that completed a questionnaire that was developed to assess opinions of mental health diagnoses (depression, ADHD), “normal troubles,” their opinions towards mental health treatment as well as an ADHD stigma scale. Some of the students were given the questionnaire while another group was coached to feign or malinger ADHD and then to complete the questionnaire. The results of the study were consistent with hypotheses: typical college students had the most stigma towards ADHD; whereas, ADHD students had the least stigma and malingering students were between the two. These results suggest that public stigma may be a variable when considering why malingering of ADHD occurs. Future research should consider the extent to which low levels of stigma increase the likelihood of malingering in college students.
Recommended Citation
Pyke, Kristen, "Public Stigma in College Students Diagnosed with Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)" (2015). Honors Capstone Projects - All. 864.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/864
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
