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In this episode, Joel and Antonia discuss one of the most commonly asked questions, “Is personality type related to ADHD?” by highlighting research, statistics, and numbers showing correlations between psychological types and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
| Study Breakdown |
Study Breakdown |
| ADHD | ADD |
| ENFP (17.44 %) | ENFP (23.53 %) |
| ESFP (13.95 %) | ESFJ (17.65 %) |
| ESFJ (12.79 %) | ESFP (14.71 %) |
| ISFP (9.30 %) | INFP (11.76 %) |
| INFP (6.98 %) | ISFP (11.76 %) |
| ENFJ (6.98 %) | ENFJ (8.82 %) |
| ISTP (5.81 %) | INFJ (5.88 %) |
| ISFJ (4.65 %) | ISFJ (2.94 %) |
| ESTJ (4.65 %) | INTP (2.94 %) |
| ESTP (4.65 %) | ENTJ (0.0 %) |
| INFJ (3.49 %) | INTJ (0.0 %) |
| ISTJ (3.49 %) | ESTJ (0.0 %) |
| INTP (2.33 %) | ISTJ (0.0 %) |
| ENTJ (1.16 %) | ISTP (0.0 %) |
| INTJ (1.16 %) | ESTP (0.0 %) |
| ENTP (1.16 %) | ENTP (0.0 %) |
Studies referred to in comments (added to over time):
The Relationship of Personality Style and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children
In this podcast you’ll find:
- Is there a correlation between ADHD or ADD and personality types?
- Are there enough studies for this topic?
- What the MILO database system has to offer.
- The study on the relationship between ADHD, ADD and personality type.
- What does the DSM-5 say about ADHD and ADD?
-
Which types are most likely to have ADHD?
- Why are Joel and Antonia surprised by which type is highest on the list?
- The big spread Joel and Antonia’s types have from each other.
- Why did all the Introverted Feeling (xxFP) types and 2 Extroverted Feeling (xxFEJ) types land high on the list?
- Why are the NT (xNTx) types grouped together?
- What cognitive functions and David Kiersey’s type temperaments have to do with the results.
-
Which types are most likely to have ADD?
- The drastic split between Feelers and Thinkers.
- Is there a divide with Sensors and Intuitives?
- Why a large group of types report 0% ADD.
- Which types correlate with the ADHD list?
- Does Extraverted Exploration (Ne – Exploration) have a role in ADHD or ADD?
- The surprise cognitive function that is most correlated with both ADHD and ADD.
- What is the other cognitive function landing high on the list?
- How the cognitive function positions in the car model matter here.
- Why IxTPs are outliers in the study.
-
The effects of learning environments:
- Do some people have ADHD or ADD or just a different learning style?
- Real struggles people experience with their learning environments.
- Article by Daniel Foster on educational environments and type needs.
- What are the challenges in discovering type preferences in children?
- How can we tell if behavior is from type needs not being met vs ADHD and ADD?
- Why we need to use these findings to support children better.
-
The imperative changes we need to make for types high on the list:
- Giving FPs (xxFPs) what they absolutely need.
- Allowing SPs (xSxPs) to be as they are.
- Letting Extraverted Feeling (Fe – Harmony) Dominants thrive in their way.
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36 comments
This was my thought as well….. particularly as a female INTP lol and I also suspect I have ADD….but definitely I think my personality type has helped mask the struggles of ADD.
I have ADD and I’m an INTJ, not the best combo. I am very hard-working, yet I posse everything as much as I can. I am very organized but I lose my things because I don’t take the best care of them. I hope those of you who share the same experience can relate to this and realize they’re not alone.
I posted this over on the Personality Hacker You Tube, but I’m posting it here, in hopes that you will see it.
Please know this comment comes from a place of really enjoying your work in general. And wanting you to handle this topic in the best way possible. I know you care about people and want to help and not hurt.
There is SO much stigma and misunderstanding around ADHD. Please please, dont add to the misunderstanding with podcasts that perpetuate myths and popular understandings that are not based in the science nor by the experience of the people whose lives are affected by this very real condition.
ADHD is not an adjective. (Ie “Im feeling a little ADHD today.” )
ADHD is a complex dysfunction of executive function and has biological and genetic roots. The Popular misunderstanding around ADHD has caused untold damage and stigma to thousands of people.
Heading into this without actually becoming educated perpetuates these myths and genuinely hurts people, as it adds fuel to the misapprehension that is held by many that ADHD is not a medical condition or a debilitating condition that requires treatment but is just “personality”. Its not just “kids not being allowed to be kids in modern society.”
Its not bad parenting. Its not “the system”
Its a debilitating dysfunction of a neurochemical process that is present in neurotypical brains and deficient in Adhd brains.
This is like having a podcast on the “personality roots” of blindness, or depression. It is so dangerous and unhelpful to approach this complex condition armed only with opinions and anecdotes. And it effects real people in devastating ways.
There is so much you could do to help educate yourselves and through you, all those who listen to this podcast. Have Dr Russell Barkley on your podcast or look up his work, just as a starting point.
Again, please know all of this is written with sincere respect for you and for your content and the belief that you truly want to do the right thing.
As someone who knows a good amount about Myers Briggs and someone who has ADHD and has had my life deeply impacted by ignorance around this issue, this podcast was maddening.
Please, please, please redo this with an expert or at least learn from some experts in the field first.
Hi MF, I was just diagnosed about a week ago at 48 so I’m new to this but my understanding is that yes, it is that the ADHD brain is wired differently the the neurotypical brain, but what makes it a disorder is those differences make it very difficult to function in the world (because we operate differently).
Imagine if society was flipped and the world operated the way people with ADHD do. The people who are always on time for everything, who were constantly sticking to a single train of thought, who saw the world as black and white, who wouldn’t switch projects until they finished the tasks their current one called for, suddenly they would be the ones with a disorder because they would have a hard time functioning in the world dominated by ADHD brains.
I also came across the theory posed by Thom Hartman, not sure I agree with that, it isn’t like there were two groups of societies operating side by side, hunters and farmers, until most hunters died out leaving the farmers and just a few hunters passing their genes on to future generations. Perhaps though, as more gene studies are done on people with ADHD, a link will be found. Or found with another group or type of people. Maybe Neanderthals and Denisovan’s had ADHD brains for example. Or perhaps there was an early group of humans in Africa that were ADHD and passed their genes on as they mixed with other groups.
To go back to your original thought, it is interesting that cultural differences could have a big impact on how ADHD is viewed and whether or not it’s seen as a disorder. If you live in a country that has a lot of praise for non-conformist, creative, grey area thinkers you’d probably see more acceptance for your “weaker” areas such as uncontrolled hyperfocus, disorganization, and tardiness. It might just be seen as “you can’t have one without the other”. But, if you live in a society that considers neurotypical brain behaviors as the ones of value you’ll probably be seen more often as having a problem and disorder.
Interesting podcast, I’ll need to read through the study cited at some point as I have doubts as to its veracity based on the results it found and the fact that there is a lot of undiagnosed ADHD, especially among girls and women. There are also problems with the way ADHD is diagnosed that could lead to skewing of the data because in order to get the diagnosis you are evaluated on how much your ADHD symptoms are negatively impacting your life; work, relationships, and school; you have to have severe negative impacts in at least two out of three of those. However, certain personality types are more likely to either be less self aware so as to not recognize the impact of their ADHD, or they are more skilled at finding solutions to work around it, perhaps not realizing they aren’t as successful at that as they think they are.
For me personally I’m INTP (have also been typed INTJ at times but INTP fits much better) and am ADHD-Inattentive type. I was just diagnosed about a week ago at 48 years old. I’d had most of the symptoms of ADHD-I for as long as I can remember but had never been evaluated for it and had never even heard of ADD until I was at least in my twenties. My only exposure to the term and what it looked like was how it was presented in media like TV and movies, which is the hyperactive type, so I never even thought about it. All I knew was that I seemed different than other people around me and those around me saw those differences as well. I thought differently, I was terrible at certain things that seemed easy for most other people and was fantastic at things that were a real challenge for others.
I’m certainly no expert when it comes to ADHD as researching it is very new to me but I was able to immediately recognize the symptoms in myself after my initial diagnosis and the therapist that assessed me said the symptoms I was struggling with were very strong and obvious to her. I disagree with your comment that there isn’t a stigma against people with ADHD. Even before I was diagnosed I saw that there was and now after talking to many people with it I’ve found it to be very commonly stigmatized. Aside from the actual label which many people think is “made-up” or over diagnosed there is a stigma against the type of person that has ADHD because the personality types, behaviors, and skills that ADHD people often exhibit are frequently less valued than those more common among neurotypicals (NTs), especially in school and work environments. Someone with ADHD might be frequently late, appear distracted, appear messy and disorganized, and be unable to complete mundane tasks; all traits which will cause other people to view that person as lazy or uncaring. That same person, however, will likely excel at problem solving and outside the box thinking. They will probably be one of the most creative people on the team or in the classroom. They will probably be able to look at a problem from so many different angles and approaches they will solve problems before other people even considered that the problem might exist.
All personality types have their strengths and weaknesses and it might be that certain personality types appear to be more common in people with ADHD. ADHD however isn’t just a personality, it’s a neurobiological difference in the brain compared to the neurotypical brain. Studies now show there is a genetic component to it though the genes involved are just now beginning to be identified. Recent studies are also confirming neurological differences in ADHD brains versus neurotypical brains. People with ADHD brains see and approach the world differently not because they choose to, but because they are wired to. This becomes a problem when they live in a world where what is considered commendable and appropriate behavior is determined by people with brains that operate differently.