It all started with a coffee break in 2023. Leentje Vervoort and her colleague Anouk Scheres sat down to talk about their work. ‘In addition to being an associate professor, Anouk is also an ADHD coach, and at the time I was also supporting people with ADHD,’ says Vervoort. ‘We realised that young people with ADHD often don’t really know who they are. We think this is partly because they’ve been told their whole lives that they need to behave and try harder.’
According to Vervoort, this constant criticism has consequences. ‘Many people with ADHD are told they need to be different from who they actually are. That it isn’t really that difficult to just act normal, like everyone else. Therefore, they try to adapt. This can cause them to lose touch with what they themselves feel and need. And if you no longer know what you’re feeling, it becomes difficult to realise who you really are, what your identity is.’
Emotion regulation in ADHD
Shortly after their coffee meeting, Vervoort and her colleagues were given the opportunity to submit a research proposal to the Dr Anna Terruwe Fund, part of the Radboud Fund. ‘Eventually, we were awarded funding to conduct research into identity formation in people with ADHD and the role of emotion regulation in this process,’ says Vervoort proudly. ‘Emotion regulation is about emotional awareness and emotional clarity: what am I feeling, where does the emotion come from, and what is it trying to tell me?’
Vervoort argues that no one is born with emotion regulation skills. ‘It is something you learn from parents and peers. For people with ADHD, this can be more complicated, because their emotions are often more intense: when they’re angry, they’re furious, and when they’re happy, they’re ecstatic.’
It is precisely this that clashes with societal expectations, Vervoort knows. ‘Society doesn’t like big emotions, so people with ADHD are often told: “just act normal, hold back a bit”, and that whilst impulse control is more difficult for them. Because they constantly have to adapt, people with ADHD gradually learn not to listen to their own feelings and lose touch with their true identity.’
Identity as a quest
According to Vervoort, identity plays an important role in well-being. ‘Having a coherent sense of who you are protects against psychological problems such as anxiety and depression and helps with life choices. At the same time, identity formation is a lifelong process: if you change jobs or have a child, your identity changes with it.’
For people with ADHD, this process is often more complicated. ‘Some people get stuck in their illness identity: I am someone with ADHD. For some that helps, for others it feels like a limitation. They often cannot say who they are apart from their ADHD.’
In their research, Vervoort and her colleagues look at ADHD from a broader perspective. ‘Traditionally, ADHD has been viewed from a neurobiological perspective: something goes wrong in the brain and this is reflected in behaviour. But behaviour is also psychological and always takes place in a social context. That is what we are focusing on.’
The researchers combine several methods. ‘We use questionnaires on ADHD traits, emotion regulation and identity formation, and conduct interviews with people with an ADHD diagnosis, for example on their experiences with criticism and what that does to their emotional experience. Our target group is broad: ranging from young adults to even a 78-year-old with ADHD characteristics. So far, we have found confirmation that ADHD is associated with difficulties in identity formation and reduced emotional awareness.’
Greater understanding and space
What does Vervoort hope the research findings will mean for people with ADHD, for example in education and healthcare? ‘On 12 November, we are holding a symposium here at Radboud University to present our findings to people with ADHD and professionals. In focus groups, we will then also discuss how these insights can be incorporated into support and treatment. We can devise support measures, but if they do not suit the target group, there is no point.’
Vervoort, who has herself been diagnosed with ADHD, emphasises that there are still many misconceptions about ADHD. ‘People often think that ADHD only affects boys or children. There is also the idea that it is always focused outwardly, that pupils with ADHD perform poorly at school, or that medication always or never works. I hope the picture becomes more nuanced. Because more nuance can lead to greater understanding. And to space within society to be allowed to be a little different, more like who you really are.’
Want to know more about this research study? Join the , the meeting entitled ‘Anna Terruwe and identity’ at LUX Nijmegen on Monday evening, 23 March.