Alexandra Owsiany | 2025 I.S. Symposium

Name: Alexandra Owsiany
Title: ADHD and Perceptions of Romantic Relationships
Major: Psychology
Advisor: Amber Garcia

Adult ADHD is an understudied area of psychology despite the far-reaching impacts it can have on people’s lives, especially regarding romantic relationships. As such, the purpose of this paper is to examine how ADHD symptomology and diagnoses can impact how people evaluate a relationship. To accomplish this goal, I gathered online survey responses from a diverse group of people. In each survey, the participant was presented with one of three possible written vignettes. The vignette would then depict a couple where neither partner had ADHD, one partner had undiagnosed ADHD, or one partner had diagnosed ADHD. Participants were then asked to rate their given couple on measures of commitment and attributions of blame. Analysis found that participants tended to be more sympathetic and think more positively of the couple when made aware of the ADHD diagnosis. However, it was also revealed that participants who had personal experience with ADHD tended to be more sympathetic overall, even when not aware of the diagnosis. This potentially stems from these participants having a better understanding of how disorders like ADHD can impact someone’s behaviors.

Posted in Symposium 2025 on May 1, 2025.