Research conducted by Asst. Psychology Prof. Amori Y. Mikami suggests girls with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder develop eating disorders at higher rates than girls without ADHD.
According to Mikami, girls with ADHD were more likely to be rejected by their peers and have conflict with their parents -- relationship difficulties that do not allow the girls to build strong support groups.
Mikami noted the effects of weak support systems, which she said "add to the risk of developing poor eating habits later on."
Additionally, Mikami said, girls who do not have good support networks "have no buffer against media images" that can be very difficult to deal with during adolescent years.
Mikami added that girls in this situation are "at risk... for poor outcomes later in life."
Mikami said she hopes her study will raise wide awareness about women living with ADHD, because while much research has focused on boys with ADHD, "we don't know very much about girls with ADHD."
The lack of research in the area of women with ADHD could be because the disorder, which affects 5 percent of all school-age children, is three times more common in boys, Mikami said, noting "girls are often overlooked or undiagnosed."
To address this issue, Mikami began researching ADHD in women as a graduate student at the University of California-Berkeley. The subjects for this study were first assessed between 1997 and 1999, then were reassessed between 2004 and 2006, Mikami said.
Mikami added that she currently is working with another set of data to monitor the effects of medication on the link between ADHD and eating disorders, she added, noting that even after 10 years of work on the subject, she continues to believe "more research needs to conducted."
-- compiled by Ayn Wisler
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