Misinformation mayhem: the effects of TikTok content on ADHD knowledge, stigma, and treatment-seeking intentions

ORCID

Nicholas David Bowman: 0000-0001-5594-9713

Kevin Antshel: 0000-0002-1139-7790

Document Type

Article

Date

6-2025

Keywords

ADHD Attention Deficit Disorder Children, Youth and Media Developmental Disabilities Educational Research Education and Disability Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Epidemiology

Disciplines

Clinical Psychology | Experimental Analysis of Behavior

Description/Abstract

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) content on TikTok is popular among college students, yet ADHD misinformation is prevalent on TikTok. This study aims to experimentally investigate the effects of TikTok ADHD misinformation content on ADHD knowledge, stigma, and treatment-seeking intentions. An experimental design assessed the impact of ADHD (mis)information among treatment-naïve college students. A pilot phase was completed to develop TikTok stimuli, using a systematic content analysis, and provide initial evidence of feasibility. In the main study, participants (N = 490) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (accurate ADHD information, ADHD misinformation, control) to view TikTok content. A baseline measure of ADHD knowledge was completed pre-content-viewing. Following content-viewing, participants completed measures assessing ADHD-related knowledge, stigma, and treatment-seeking intentions. Participants exposed to ADHD misinformation exhibited significantly less accurate ADHD knowledge, but higher confidence in their ADHD knowledge post-content-viewing. Participants exposed to accurate ADHD content exhibited significantly more ADHD knowledge and confidence in their knowledge post-content-viewing. The ADHD misinformation group reported higher intentions to seek both evidence-based and non-evidence-based ADHD treatment. No significant effects of content condition on ADHD stigma were found. Perceived entertainment of TikTok content was significantly associated with ADHD knowledge and treatment-seeking intentions. TikTok ADHD misinformation decreases ADHD knowledge yet increases confidence in that knowledge as well as ADHD treatment-seeking intentions. These findings provide an essential first step in understanding the potential harms of TikTok misinformation on the individual and public levels.

Source

submission

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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