Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptom Levels and Romantic Relationship Quality in College Students

Abstract

Findings suggest that ADHD impairs relationship quality among young adults and suggest mechanisms through which this impairment might occur.

The Effects of Family Transitions on Depressive Symptoms: Differences among Young Adults with and without Childhood Symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

“…To elucidate our finding that cohabitation was distinct from marriage in its consequences for depressive symptoms among young adults with childhood symptoms of ADHD, future research should investigate differences in relationship quality among young adults with ADHD who are married versus cohabiting and the implications of these differences for mental health. Although prior research has examined ties between ADHD and relationship quality in nonmarital unions more generally, it has not focused on ties between ADHD and relationship quality in cohabiting unions specifically, nor has it compared relationship quality among those with ADHD across coresidential union types (Bruner et al 2015; Pollock et al 2017). Cohabitations might be more prone than marriages to impulsive entries, which may be more common among young adults with ADHD.…”

“…ADHD is associated with more romantic relationship turnover, more divorce, and the occurrence of multiple marriages (Biederman et al 2006; Canu and Carlson 2007; Klein et al 2016). Studies focusing on nonmarital and marital unions alike have linked ADHD to lower relationship quality, an outcome due in part to the ADHD-related impairments in emotional regulation (Bruner et al 2015; Overbey, Snell, and Callis 2011; Pollock et al 2017). Concerning marriage specifically, studies focusing on adults with ADHD and/or on adults whose spouses have ADHD indicate that marriages in which one of the partners has ADHD are characterized by lower marital satisfaction and less intimacy (Ben-Naim et al 2017; Eakin et al 2004).…”

“…Prior research points to the importance of family contexts for mental health (Thoits 2011; Umberson, Pudrovska, and Reczek 2010), and studies citing more strain around coresidential unions and parenthood for individuals with ADHD raise the possibility that coresidential union and parenthood transitions affect depression differently for adults with and without childhood symptoms of ADHD (Bruner, Kuryluk, and Whitton 2015; Kroeger 2018). In this study we use data from three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) and between-within (BW) regression modeling to examine whether transitions into coresidential unions, transitions out of coresidential unions, or transitions into parenthood affect depressive symptoms differently for young adults with and without childhood symptoms of ADHD at subthreshold or diagnostic levels.…”

Neuropsychological deficits in relation to ADHD symptoms, quality of life, and daily life functioning in young adulthood

“…With regard to emotion dysregulation, it is clear that poor ability to control one's emotions has a severe negative impact on daily life, with strong associations not only with ADHD but also with many other mental disorders (Sheppes, Suri, & Gross, 2015). In clinical studies of adults with ADHD, emotion dysregulation has been linked to, for example, higher comorbid symptom levels, poorer social relations, higher unemployment, lower educational level, more traffic accidents, and poorer quality of life (Barkley & Fischer, 2010;Bodalski, Knouse, & Kovalev, 2019;Bruner, Kuryluk, & Whitton, 2015;Surman et al, 2013). The overlap between different neuropsychological deficits has not been examined in these studies, which means we do not know, for example, whether emotion dysregulation is still related to poor academic achievement after controlling for executive deficits.…”

Associations between the Adult ADHD Self-Report Rating Scale and the Test of Differential Inhibition and Attention

“…ADHD assessment is complicated by a variety of factors including heterogeneity in symptoms, gender and age differences in rates of diagnosis, variability in symptom manifestation across the lifespan, and high comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders and medical conditions (Asherson, 2016;Willcut, 2012;Williamson & Johnston, 2015). Additionally, ADHD is associated with deficits in academic, social, occupational, and emotional functioning, making it difficult to differentiate ADHD from other psychiatric disorders (Bruner, Kuryluk, & Whitton, 2015;Klein et al, 2012;Prevatt & Young, 2014;Skirrow & Asherson, 2013).…”