The most common MBTI in ADHD individuals. Studies have shown that ADHD can come with certain characteristics but the question is can we use these characteristics to help diagnose more children with adhd. That is exactly what I'm trying to find out with the help of the Myers Briggs personality types! I think ESFP or ENFP will be the most common personality type.

If Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can have an effect on Personality types then I believe that the most likely Myers’s Briggs personality type will be ESFP or ENFP. 

This can be supported by looking at the characteristics of ADHD and comparing that to characteristics of MBTi types. More specifically the struggles of both. When looking at the most common struggles in ADHD and the DSM-5 which is the requirements to be diagnosed with ADHD these are the struggles:

Inattention

• Often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, at work, or with other activities.
• Often has trouble holding attention on tasks or play activities.
• Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly.
• Often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (e.g., loses focus, side-tracked).
• Often has trouble organizing tasks and activities.
• Often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to do tasks that require mental effort over a long period of time (such as schoolwork or homework).
• Often loses things necessary for tasks and activities (e.g. school materials, pencils, books, tools, wallets, keys, paperwork, eyeglasses, mobile telephones).
• Is often easily distracted.
• Is often forgetful in daily activities.

Hyperactivity-impulsivity

• Often fidgets with or taps hands or feet, or squirms in seat.
• Often leaves seat in situations when remaining seated is expected.
• Often runs about or climbs in situations where it is not appropriate (adolescents or adults may be limited to feeling restless).
• Often unable to play or take part in leisure activities quietly.
• Is often “on the go” acting as if “driven by a motor.”
• Often talks excessively.
• Often blurts out an answer before a question has been completed.
• Often has trouble waiting their turn.
• Often interrupts or intrudes on others (e.g., butts into conversations or games).

These are the struggles that are the most common in ESFP and ENFP. The highlighted ones are that in common with the DSM-5.

ENFP:                                

• People-Pleasing 
• Unfocused 
• Disorganized 
• Overly Accommodating 
• Overly Optimistic 
• Restless 

ESFP:

• Sensitive
• Conflict-Averse
• Easily Bored
• Poor Long-Term Planners
• Unfocused 

As pointed out, both of them have 3 of the same problems. Comparing that to the other types, ESFP and ENFP have the most in common with the DSM-5. 

More specifically I believe that E n f p will be more likely to be inattentive and esfp will be more likely to be hyperactive I can support this by looking at the characteristics and strengths of these two types. is esfp is commonly known to be very creative have good ideas and being lovely and fun to be around. ENFP is often known to be energetic, outgoing Lively and also creative. From looking at these characteristics I can determine that ESFP has more hyperactive traits and ENFP has more of inattentive traits.

 

How does ADHD differ between men and women?

Generally, with children with ADHD, boys tend to exhibit more physical characteristics, like running around, blurting out answers, lots of talking or struggles with staying in their seat; these are all characteristics of ADHD leaning more towards hyperactivity. Girls, however, are more likely to have non-physical struggles, so that's things like memory or getting distracted mentally. For example, drifting off or thinking about something different. Girls, because of this, are less likely to get diagnosed as children.

Types of adhd?

According to the DSM-5, there are three different types of ADHD, unless you include impulsivity, but that is incredibly rare and doctors generally don't consider that when diagnosing.

-Inattentive 

These individuals aren't hyper as associated with most individuals with ADHD. They generally struggle with focus, remembering things and forgetfulness.

 -Hyperactivity. 

These individuals are mainly affected by “motor response inhibition”. They are more likely to get distracted from physical stimulants and can have trouble sitting still for long periods.  Stay in their seat, particularly with children.

Combo

This means that they have a mix between the two. They must have 6 of each category from the dsm-5. The following is dsm-5. They must have at least 6 of either or 5 of both for combo type.

Inattention

• Often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, at work, or with other activities.
• Often has trouble holding attention on tasks or play activities.
• Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly.
• Often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (e.g., loses focus, side-tracked).
• Often has trouble organizing tasks and activities.
• Often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to do tasks that require mental effort over a long period of time (such as schoolwork or homework).
• Often loses things necessary for tasks and activities (e.g. school materials, pencils, books, tools, wallets, keys, paperwork, eyeglasses, mobile telephones).
• Is often easily distracted.
• Is often forgetful in daily activities.

Hyperactivity-impulsivity

• Often fidgets with or taps hands or feet, or squirms in their seat.
• Often leaves the seat in situations when remaining seated is expected.
• Often runs about or climbs in situations where it is not appropriate (adolescents or adults may be limited to feeling restless).
• Often unable to play or take part in leisure activities quietly.
• Is often “on the go” acting as if “driven by a motor.”
• Often talks excessively.
• Often blurts out an answer before a question has been completed.
• Often has trouble waiting their turn.
• Often interrupts or intrudes on others (e.g., butts into conversations or games).

History of diagnosing ADHD 

https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/history Medically reviewed by Tiffany Taft, PsyD — Written by Kimberly Holland — Updated on August 30, 2024

The symptoms of ADHD were first described in 1798 by the Scottish physician Sir Alexander Crichton as “the incapacity of attending with a necessary degree of constancy to any one object.”

In 1902, British pediatrician Sir George Frederic Still described

  “an abnormal defect of moral control in children.” He found that some affected children could not control their behavior the way a typical child would, but they were still intelligent.The APA released a revised version of the DSM-III in 1987. They removed the hyperactivity distinction and changed the name to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).The APA included the three symptoms of inattentiveness, impulsivity, and hyperactivity into a single list of symptoms and did not identify subtypes of the disorder.The APA released the fourth edition of the DSMin 2000. The fourth edition established the three subtypes of ADHD used by healthcare professionals today:

• combined type ADHD
• predominantly inattentive type ADHD
• predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type ADHD

There are still debates about whether the name is an accurate reflection of the condition.

Does it go away

ADHD is shown toBig parts of the brain smaller these parts of the brain are in charge of emotion regulation memory / Focus and  motor.  because these parts of the brain can Take longer to develop or even stay slightly smaller than the rest of the population this can result in the unique characteristics of ADHD because your brain parts  sometimes take longer to develop that is why children seem to exhibit these characteristics more obviously or greater although Studies have shown that ADHD does not go away due to the fact that it is a neurological disorder that can affect not only the size or development rate of your brain but also the neurochemistry affecting the neurotransmitters particularly dopamine.

How does mbti work?

It is separated into four categories.

Energy

This is how we react and in our surroundings.

 -Introvert  These individuals prefer to be alone and can get tired or need a break at gatherings or activities that require lots of socialization.

 -Extroverts Prefer to be in a group and get sad or lonely easily and are generally energized by social interaction.

 

 Mind

 How we process information

 -Observant

 Very down-to-earth-like schedule pragmatic.

 -Intuitive

 They are imaginative, creative and love to let their minds run wild. They like to focus on the future and unique ways of doing things. 

 

Nature

 Decisions and coping. 

-Thinking

 These individuals focus on logic and efficiency more than cooperation and others feel. They want to get the job done as fast and effectively as possible. 

-Feeling

 Feeling individuals are sensitive and emotionally expressive. They prefer to do what would be best for everyone rather than the most effective solution.

 

Tactics

 -Judging 

They are highly organized, predictable and like structure and planning.

 -Perspective

 They like to improvise, follow their own route of instructions, are very flexible and like to spot opportunities to find unique solutions. They also like a challenge.

 

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-Analysts

 These types are very independent there. Brave, imaginative and enjoy fields like science, technology and debating intellectual topics and our strategic thinkers.

-Diplomats 

Empathy, cooperation, caring for others' feelings, and can have difficulty doing what's most effective if it can harm one's feelings.

-Centennials

 Good on a team, great in administrative fields, but are not flexible and like a schedule.

-Explorers

 Great ability to connect with their surroundings. They love a good hobby and problem-solving. They are masters of all trades and good at convincing people. 

 

ADHD Brains

 

FMRI  

Is when we look at how much blood is going to  certain parts of the brain. to see which parts are being activated or used. When using this and looking at ADHD peoples processing, it showed irregular actions in cognitive parts. Showing lower in when engaging activities and higher in activities when resting.  As Well as irregular DMN (default mode network) Which means that our brains are more active when we let our brain wander. 

 

 Citations:

Dec 20th 2022. ADDA editorial team

 https://add.org/adhd-bra.in/ 

April 10, 2024.Writer: Faith Wilkins. Clinical Expert: Aki Nikolaidis, PhD https://childmind.org/article/how-is-the-adhd-brain-different/ 

 

Structure  

Prefrontal lobe 

Is shown to develop slower in children with ADHD and has also been seen as being slightly smaller in size.

• Planning and organization
• Focus and attention
• Self-monitoring and self-control
• Memory
• Communication
• Problem-solving
• Impulse control
• Language
• Social behavior
• Motivation
• Judgment

Cerebellum  

-In charge of balancing examples in walking.The cerebellum has lots of responsibilities but especially affects the regulation of movement, which can relate to ADHD children / adults being more hyper or moving around alot. (motor response inhibition)

Hippocampus 

-Is in charge of memory eg: short term, long-term memory, and storing and recovering. Despite being small in size it has a large role in the brain. 

AmygdalaIIs

-in charge of managing emotions,  affects the reaction to surroundings, senses (sight, smell, taste, feel and hear).  Has correlation to ADHD by ADHD people having the possibility to be impulsive or make sudden irregular decisions.

 Neurochemistry & Connectivity 

Not only can ADHD affect the physical structure of your brain but it can also affect it's neurochemistry. This is how ADHD does not go away and is something individual's live with for their whole lives. ADHD affects neurotransmitters particularly dopamine dopamine is a protein that is in charge of connecting your neurological pathways dopamine is commonly known as a happy chemical and it is in charge of mood and energy levels as well as motivation. Because of this the individuals with ADHD are more likely to run into mental health disorders such as anxiety or depression.

Medications:

The most common medication is a stimulant, which means that it helps your brain produce dopamine which helps connect neurological pathways and helps ADHD symptoms.

 

 

My variables:

Indepandent:

My independent variable is my participants because each person is different 

• sex, 
• type of ADHD (hyperactivity, innatentive,combo),
• age 
• age/date of diagnosis 

Dependent:
My independent is which MBTI they are and this is the factor that I can't change and Is what can be effected my the sex, tyep of ADHD.  

 
Controlled: my controlled is the Tyep of personality quiz which is Myers Briggs, my questionnaire, the test I ask participants to use to find their MBTI and they fact they all have adhd. 

Procedure:

What MBTI is most common in people with ADHD 

The objective:

The objective of my project was to find the most common Myers Briggs personality type in people with ADHD. I did this to help children with undiagnosed ADHD get diagnosed, this can happen by educating parents, teachers or even family to help notice symptoms and characteristics of adhd to help that child get a diagnosis, and the accommodation to help them thrive, for when it is most important. 

Materials:

I will not use many physical materials for my project, for most of my data collection is online. I will use google forms to create a questionnaire to collect my data. I chose this for anonymity, so it would be quick, people could do it anytime and anywhere, and it is a free resource that everyone who has a phone has access to. 

Procedure:

1. Find which personality test I would use: I decided to use MBTI because it is the most well known test, this is important so people can use my project to suspect children with ADHD and using a test that was not well known would not be a good choice.

2. Creating a google form: What personality type are you? This question is the most important question. This is essential for my project due to the fact that I am trying to find  the most common type. I also included a link to a free personality test. I did this to ensure I could get the participants' most recent result and to ensure I could get all of my participants to complete the same test because I was unsure if different sites could have different outcomes. I also included a question asking them to select any of the following they experience. The options were the requirements to be diagnosed with ADHD.  To help categorize participants with either ADD,ADHD, or combo. I did this because as time passes we gain more information about ADHD and up until not too long ago it was just called ADD and did not include hyperactivity. So people diagnosed before then would have been told they were just ADD. Which matters if they are actually hyperactive.

3. Posting a link to my quiz on different group chats. I contacted many calgarian physiatrists to see if the could ask any of there patients if they would do my questionnaire, unfortunately I could not get any response back from them so I decided to post a link on many different ADHD support groups on Facebook, this is where I had a significant amount of responses.

Data collection: I will use google forms for collecting my data from participants. Not only will this speed up the process of completing my questionnaire for participants, but it is a lot more simple and more accessible since it is online. Google forms allows me to have access to individual responses and also to look at all of the responses which is very helpful for analyzing my data.

Analyzing my data: I will spit it into the following categories;

Males with ADHD

Males with ADD

Males with Combo

Females with ADHD

Females with ADD

Females with Combo

From this as well as other questions on the questionnaire.I can determine:

-The most common MBTI in total 

-Most common MBTI in each of the categories above 

- if people with ADHD are more common to be extroverted, intuitive, thinking or feeling, perceiving or judging

-If certain mental health conditions are more common in individuals who are ADHD

-I will be able to see the amount of people who face discrimination because of having ADHD

I will look at my data and convert it into percentages to see the mean, median and mode.

Google forms is extremely helpful because it summarizes a lot of the questions which is very time saving.

 

 

       

MBTI                TOTAL          ADD         ADHD      COMBO       ADD         ADHD      COMBO      

 

 

 

 

The most common MBTI in males with COMBO type.                             The most common MBTI in males with  ADHD.

 

 

The most common MBTI in females with ADHD.                                            The most common MBTI In Females With COMBO Type.

The Most Common MBTI In Males With ADD.                                          The Most Common MBTI In Females with ADD.

 

 INFP is the most likely personality type for individuals with ADHD to have

 But it was interesting to find out that it was different for men and women.

Mens most common personality type was INFJ, the difference being judging instead of perceiving. Opposed to women, with infp being the most common, this can conclude that women do more perceptions and are more flexible and men prefer a structured plan and predictable instructions.  There were less male partisipant than female. This could be because there where more females in the face book groups I posted it in. 

MBTI                TOTAL          ADD         ADHD      COMBO       ADD         ADHD      COMBO      

 

What personality type is most common in people with ADHD?

Learning this can not inspire us to do more research on ADHD, but it can also help minorities get diagnosed with ADHD. Women are half as likely to get diagnosed as men, particularly as children, due to the fact that girls have more inattentive symptoms and are not as apparent as hyperactive. By learning about the MBTI characteristics and which types are more likely to have ADHD, we can spread awareness about the different characteristics and educate teachers, parents or even families of children who are suspected of having ADHD and help them get the diagnosis they deserve for when it really matters, which is during their education, so they can get proper accommodations such as an IPP or 504 plan.

The data can conclude that INFP is the most likely personality type for individuals with ADHD to have. But it was interesting to find out that it was different for men and women. Mens most common personality type was INFJ, the difference being judging instead of perceiving. Opposed to women, with infp being the most common, this can conclude that women do more perceptions and are more flexible and men prefer a structured plan and predictable instructions. 

My hypothesis was that it would be either ESFP or ENPF. Although this was not correct, it was correct in the PF part, meaning that individuals with ADHD tend to make dissensions based on their own feelings or to pursue other feelings. 

 

Procedure:

1. Find which personality test I would use: I decided to use MBTI because it is the most well known test, this is important so people can use my project to suspect children with ADHD and using a test that was not well known would not be a good choice.
2. Creating a google form: What personality type are you? This question is the most important question. This is essential for my project due to the fact that I am trying to find  the most common type. I also included a link to a free personality test. I did this to ensure I could get the participants' most recent result and to ensure I could get all of my participants to complete the same test because I was unsure if different sites could have different outcomes. I also included a question asking them to select any of the following they experience. The options were the requirements to be diagnosed with ADHD.  To help categorize participants with either ADD,ADHD, or combo. I did this because as time passes we gain more information about ADHD and up until not too long ago it was just called ADD and did not include hyperactivity. So people diagnosed before then would have been told they were just ADD. Which matters if they are actually hyperactive.
3. Posting a link to my quiz on different group chats. I contacted many calgarian physiatrists to see if the could ask any of there patients if they would do my questionnaire, unfortunately I could not get any response back from them so I decided to post a link on many different ADHD support groups on Facebook, this is where I had a significant amount of responses.

 

Data collection: I will use google forms for collecting my data from participants. Not only will this speed up the process of completing my questionnaire for participants, but it is a lot more simple and more accessible since it is online. Google forms allows me to have access to individual responses and also to look at all of the responses which is very helpful for analyzing my data.

 

Analyzing my data: I will spit it into the following categories;

Males with ADHD

Males with ADD

Males with Combo

Females with ADHD

Females with ADD

Females with Combo

 

From this as well as other questions on the questionnaire.I can determine:

-The most common MBTI in total 

-Most common MBTI in each of the categories above 

- if people with ADHD are more common to be extroverted, intuitive, thinking or feeling, perceiving or judging

-If certain mental health conditions are more common in individuals who are ADHD

-I will be able to see the amount of people who face discrimination because of having ADHD

I will look at my data and convert it into percentages to see the mean, median and mode.

Google forms is extremely helpful because it summarizes a lot of the questions which is very time saving.

 

Lab error:

In my questionnaire I added a question asking them to select if they were female or male. I believe I was not fully clear about the fact that I wanted their biological sex but I had a handful of participants who said that they identified as other genders. I realized after the fact that I should have been more specific about what I meant but did not want to be rude or insensitive.

 

Collecting my data I decided to reach out to multiple psychiatrists who had ADHD support groups unfortunately I did not receive any replies from them so I decided to post my link on ADHD  groups on Facebook, I did this so they could do it voluntarily and I was able to get a mind blowing response with an end number of participants being six times my initial goal. 

 

Collecting a variety of participants: 

Fortunately I had a large number of participants but I was not able to receive as many responses from males as I hoped. I believe this could be because of the amount of males in these support groups. When looking at the members of these groups I have realised that the majority are women. Next time, although I did post it in groups for specifically men I would post it in more and include maybe more information in hopes I could get more male participants.

https://add.org/adhd-bra.in/ Dec 20th 2022.  By ADDA editorial team  

 

April 10, 2024.Writer: Faith Wilkins. Clinical Expert: Aki Nikolaidis, PhD 

https://childmind.org/article/how-is-the-adhd-brain-different/ 

 

https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/history Medically reviewed by Tiffany Taft, PsyD — Written by Kimberly Holland — Updated on August 30, 2024 

 

https://www.16personalities.com/personality-types

 

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4784-attention-deficithyperactivity-disorder-adhd  Last reviewed on 03/12/2025. Learn more about the Health Library and our editorial process

 

^{https://www.16personalities.com/articles/our-theory} 

 

 https://www.cdc.gov/adhd/diagnosis/index.html October 3, 2024

 

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/adhdadd 

 

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-researchers-identify-brain-conne Wednesday, March 13, 2024, Luke Norman, Ph.D., staff scientist in the NIMH Office of the Clinical Director and lead author of the paper

 

https://personalityhacker.com/blogs/podcasts/podcast-episode-0367-adhd-and-myer

S-briggs-personality-types by Personality Hacker Jan 25, 2021

 

https://www.helpguide.org/mental-health/adhd/adhd-in-adults By Melinda Smith, M.A., Reviewed by Jenna Nielsen, MSW, LCSW

 

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd 

 

I want to thank all of my participants. I was blown away by the amount of responses I got and exceed my goal. I also want to thank the CYSF for giving my the opportunity to share my finding and encourage my want to peruse in science. My science fair cordanator, and parents who have helped me edit writing, clear up things I was confused on and all the support I have received, I am so also grateful for.