Sex differences are poorly studied within the field of mental health, even though there is evidence of disparities (with respect to brain anatomy, activation patterns, and neurochemistry, etc.) that can significantly influence the etiology and course of mental disorders. The objective of this work was to review sex differences in adolescents (aged 13–18 years) diagnosed with ADHD (according to the DSM-IV, DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 criteria) in terms of substance use disorder (SUD), prevalence, pharmacological therapy and mental health. We searched three academic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus) and performed a narrative review of a total of 21 articles. The main conclusions of this research were (1) girls with ADHD are more at risk of substance use than boys, although there was no consensus on the prevalence of dual disorders; (2) girls are less frequently treated because of underdiagnosis and because they are more often inattentive and thereby show less disruptive behavior; (3) together with increased impairment in cognitive and executive functioning in girls, the aforementioned could be related to greater substance use and poorer functioning, especially in terms of more self-injurious behavior; and (4) early diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, especially in adolescent girls, is essential to prevent early substance use, the development of SUD, and suicidal behavior.

The prevalence of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has steadily increased, posing new challenges for inclusive education and teacher preparation. Teaching competence, understood as a multidimensional construct integrating cognitive, attitudinal, motivational, and practical components, is key to ensuring high-quality educational responses. This study developed and preliminarily validated DocenTEA, a questionnaire designed to assess five interrelated dimensions of inclusive competence: training, knowledge, experience, socio-emotional skills, and inclusive pedagogical practices. The instrument, consisting of 25 Likert-type items (0–4), was administered to 270 teachers across different educational levels in Spain. Content validity was examined through expert judgment and Aiken’s V coefficient (≥0.70), while construct validity was assessed via exploratory factor analysis using ULS estimation and Promax rotation. The five-factor solution explained 60.43% of the variance and showed adequate reliability (α and ω ≥ 0.70). Overall, DocenTEA emerges as a useful tool to identify teachers’ strengths and training needs, and to guide professional development programs and inclusive practices aimed at supporting students with ASD.