Information about ADHD on TikTok could be misinforming young people about the condition, a study has suggested.

And mental health professionals could play a more active role in TikTok discussions around ADHD to address issues around misinformation, the researchers suggested.

An analysis of the 100 most-viewed TikTok videos related to ADHD showed that fewer than half the claims made about symptoms align with clinical guidelines for diagnosing the condition.

In a study published in PLOS One, two clinical psychologists evaluated the top 100 most-viewed TikTok videos under the hashtag for accuracy, nuance and overall quality.

More than 800 undergraduate students were surveyed about their TikTok habits and asked to rate 10 videos – the five highest-rated and five lowest-rated by the psychologists.

The results showed a mismatch between the two groups in how reliable and accurate they viewed them to be.

Clinical psychologists gave the more accurate ADHD videos an average rating of 3.6 out of five, while young adults gave them 2.8.

For the least reliable videos rated by the psychologists at 1.1 out of five, young adults rated them significantly higher at 2.3.

The study also showed that the more ADHD-related TikTok content a young adult consumes, the more likely they are to overestimate the prevalence and severity of ADHD symptoms in the general population.

Researchers found that participants who watched more of the ADHD content were also more likely to recommend the videos – despite the unreliability of the information.

The team noted that in the videos, many TikTok creators shared personal experiences without indicating that they don’t necessarily apply to everyone with ADHD and might even occur for people who don’t have the disorder.

Study author Vasileia Karasavva from the University of British Colombia said: ‘TikTok can be an incredible tool for raising awareness and reducing stigma, but it also has a downside.

‘Anecdotes and personal experiences are powerful, but when they lack context, they can lead to misunderstandings about ADHD and mental health in general.’

Young people need access to reliable resources as there can be barriers to seeking mental health care, added Professor Amori Mikami, professor of psychology at UBC and senior study author.

‘Some young adults turn to TikTok because of access barriers, or negative experiences they have had with mental health professionals.

‘It is also our responsibility to address equity gaps in who can see a psychologist.’

Dr Blandine French, senior Research Fellow, School of Psychology and Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham, said the huge rise of TikTok ADHD content has only been observed in the last five years and so there has been little evaluation of it.

‘ADHD fell within the 10 most-viewed health related hashtags on TikTok so we really need to understand more about its impact on those viewing this content.

‘Social media can be a great source of support but shouldn’t be a place for diagnosis as it is not made for this. It should be used alongside other more reliable methods, sources, and information.’

The study comes as primary minister Stephen Kinnock announced that the Government planned to crack down on ‘unregulated private sector’ therapists and counsellors.

Speaking at Pulse LIVE, an event hosted by our sister title Pulse this week, he said he was ‘very worried that there are diagnoses being given out by the private independent sector which are not rooted in clinical expertise’.

He added that ‘demand just continues to go through the roof’ partly as a result of these private sector counsellors and therapists.

NHS figures show steady increases in prescribing for ADHD.

For 2023/24, the number of medicines dispensed increased by 28% for adults and 9.9% for children.

A version of this article first appeared on our sister title Pulse.