Hensikten med denne studien var å undersøke hvordan unge med diagnosen attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) erfarte denne lidelsen, dens behandling med sentralstimulerende medisin, og konsekvensene diagnosen og medisineringen hadde for deres daglige liv.

Metode: En kvalitativ studie med intervju av ti ungdommer i alderen fra 13 – 18 år, hvor alle har diagnosen ADHD og ni var medisinert. Fem av informantene var gutter, fem var jenter. Intervjuene ble tatt opp på lydbånd og analysert etter prinsippene i Grounded Theory.

Resultat: De unge definerte sin opplevelse av diagnosen på fire områder. Skole, fritid og venner. Sin egen opplevelse definerte de som; lettelse, skjule diagnosen, annerledes, anstrengelse. De unges opplevelse inngår i en kjernekategori” å leve et dobbelt liv” som inneholder fire hovedkategorier. Det er opplevelsen av å være avvikende, opplevelsen av å kjenne uro for framtiden, det er å føle skam for diagnosen og skjule at de tar medisin. Analysen indikerer en sammenheng mellom diagnose og medisinering og stigma for den enkelte unge på tre av områdene, unntatt hjemmet. Bruk av denne sammenhengen kan bidra til å utvikle et helsefremmende arbeid i forbindelse med diagnostiseringen av ADHD til unge menneske

The aim of the study was to investigate how youths with a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experienced the disorder, it`s treatment and the consequences of the diagnosis and treatment on their daily life.

Method: Ten youths between 13 and 18 years on age (five were females and five were males) with a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder who were patients in an outpatient unit for children and adolescents were interviewed by the author. The interviews were audiotaped and analyzed by principles and methods of Grounded Theory.

Findings: Four main themes/basic areas were identified: Friends, school, leisure time and home. Friends: They characterised their relationships with friends as different. School: their experience of the school was centred around make a secret about the illness. Leisure time was described as to conceal their illness. Home was described as relief. A core category uniting these basic themes was the feeling of having a “double life” the essence of which was feeling shame about the diagnoses, fear of being different form other youths and insecurity about their future. This led to considerable effort being spent on concealing their use of medication. Their view on the medication was dominated by ambivalence. On one hand it helped them handle their daily routines, on the other it was a signal of being different from other youths. The study indicated that essential parts of the subjective life of these youths consisted of thoughts about their diagnosis, negative social consequences and efforts to avoid stigma.