The Association between Sensory Sensitivity, ADHD Characteristics and Gender in Emerging Adults

Dreijer, Fabiën (2025) The Association between Sensory Sensitivity, ADHD Characteristics and Gender in Emerging Adults. Master thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

Recent research suggests that atypical sensory processing may be linked to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), yet little is known about how specific ADHD characteristics —hyperactivity and inattentiveness—relate to sensory sensitivity, particularly when examining hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity separately. Additionally, potential gender differences in these relationships remain underexplored to date. The current study aimed to examine the associations between the two sensory profiles and ADHD characteristics, in a non-clinical sample of emerging adults. This study also aimed to explore gender differences in these relationships. A total of 212 participants, consisting of 134 women and 76 men, aged 18 to 25 years, completed self-report measures assessing current ADHD symptoms and sensory processing patterns. The relationships between the variables and the moderating variable of gender were observed and assessed. Both hyper- and hyposensitivity were significantly positively correlated with ADHD characteristics inattentiveness and hyperactivity. Women scored significantly higher on hypersensitivity when compared to men, but no such differences were found in hyposensitivity. Additionally, no significant differences in scores between men and women were found in ADHD characteristics inattentiveness or hyperactivity. ADHD symptom severity was found to be a significant predictor of both sensory processing patterns in the current sample, whereas gender was found to only be a predictor of hypersensitivity. This study found no interaction effects between ADHD characteristics and gender; gender appeared not to influence ADHD characteristics, nor did gender moderate an effect between ADHD characteristics on sensory sensitivity. ADHD characteristics and sensory sensitivity appear to be closely linked in emerging young adults in a non-clinical population. Gender differences found in hypersensitivity suggest that sensory processing and sensory processing difficulties may be influenced by gender or gender-specific factors. The findings of the current study underline the importance of sensory processing as a consideration in future ADHD research and practical applications, for example ADHD treatment, while proceeding with caution when generalizing to clinical context. Keywords: ADHD, sensory sensitivity, hypersensitivity, hyposensitivity, hyperactivity, inattentiveness, gender differences, young adults

Item Type:	Thesis (Master)
Supervisor name:	Gaastra, G.F.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	Clinical Neuropsychology (CN) [Master Psychology]
Date Deposited:	30 Oct 2025 07:22
Last Modified:	30 Oct 2025 07:23
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5978

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