Boys Score Higher Everywhere? Gender Differences in Parent-Reported ADHD Symptoms Across Age Groups and Four...

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Parent-reported attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms show potential gender disparities.
• Existing research lacks clarity on how these gender differences in ADHD symptoms vary by age and country.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate cross-national gender differences in parent-reported ADHD symptoms.
• To examine if these differences vary across early, middle, and late childhood.
• To explore the moderating roles of age group and the Gender Inequality Index (GII).

Main Methods:

• A meta-analytic approach using aggregated data from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Hyperactivity/Inattention subscale).
• Data were sourced from England, the Netherlands, the USA, and Japan.
• A mixed-effects meta-regression model analyzed gender differences, age group, and GII simultaneously.

Main Results:

• A significant overall gender difference in ADHD symptoms was found (SMD ≈ 0.27).
• Gender differences were significant across all age groups: early childhood (SMD ≈ 0.27), middle childhood (SMD ≈ 0.36), and late childhood/adolescence (SMD ≈ 0.35).
• The Gender Inequality Index did not significantly explain the variability in gender differences, possibly due to limited variance.

Conclusions:

• Gender differences in parent-reported ADHD symptoms are present in early, middle, and late childhood across the studied countries.
• While age group is a factor, other unmeasured variables likely contribute to the heterogeneity observed.
• Future research should consider a wider range of countries and more granular data to fully understand these differences.