# Transparent but Powerful: Explainability, Accuracy, and Generalizability in ADHD Detection from Social Media Data

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.15586 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.15586/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 8 of its 35 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 23 Nov 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 8 of 8)

- [Attention Is All You Need](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.03762/) (2017)
- [PyTorch: An Imperative Style, High-Performance Deep Learning Library](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.01703/) (2019)
- [RoBERTa: A Robustly Optimized BERT Pretraining Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1907.11692/) (2019)
- ["Why Should I Trust You?": Explaining the Predictions of Any Classifier](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1602.04938/) (2016)
- [HuggingFace's Transformers: State-of-the-art Natural Language Processing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1910.03771/) (2019)
- [MentalBERT: Publicly Available Pretrained Language Models for Mental Healthcare](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.15621/) (2021)
- [SMHD: A Large-Scale Resource for Exploring Online Language Usage for Multiple Mental Health Conditions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1806.05258/) (2018)
- [Natural Language Processing for Smart Healthcare](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.15803/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent mental health condition affecting both children and adults, yet it remains severely underdiagnosed. Recent advances in artificial intelligence, particularly in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML), offer promising solutions for scalable and non-invasive ADHD screening methods using social media data. This paper presents a comprehensive study on ADHD detection, leveraging both shallow machine learning models and deep learning approaches, including BiLSTM and transformer-based models, to analyze linguistic patterns in ADHD-related social media text. Our results highlight the trade-offs between interpretability and performance across different models, with BiLSTM offering a balance of transparency and accuracy. Additionally, we assess the generalizability of these models using cross-platform data from Reddit and Twitter, uncovering key linguistic features associated with ADHD that could contribute to more effective digital screening tools.