Social difficulties in adolescent attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Social motivation, social anxiety and symptom severity as contributing factors

Abstract

Background Many interventions have been developed to address the social difficulties commonly experienced by adolescents with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), yet they are largely ineffective. Objective This study examined social impairment among adolescents with and without ADHD, determining whether gender, social anxiety, age, and ADHD symptom type (inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity) and severity are associated with social impairment. Method Parents and primary caregivers of adolescents (aged 13–17) with (n = 76) and without ADHD (n = 36) completed the Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD and Normal Behavior, Social Responsiveness Scale 2nd Edition, and Spence Children's Anxiety Scale. Results Adolescents with ADHD scored significantly higher than TD adolescents across social impairment domains. ADHD symptoms were associated with severity of impairment in all domains excluding Social Motivation. Hyperactivity/impulsivity and social anxiety predicted social impairment, whereas gender did not. Conclusion Adolescents with ADHD are more likely to experience social impairment than TD adolescents, and interventions targeting symptom reduction and social anxiety may improve these social impairments.

Lowered social motivation is associated with adolescent attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and social anxiety symptoms

“…This may be due to the present study involving samples of Australian respondents collected during the COVID-19 pandemic which was characterised by social distancing and discouraged social interactions, however further research into social motivation following COVID-19 is required to substantiate this claim. Taken together, consistent with previous suggestions ( McKay et al, 2023 ; Smith & Langberg, 2018 ), the present study provides further evidence that social motivation appears to remain stable during childhood, and decline during adolescence for individuals with ADHD.…”

“…As hypothesised, adolescents with ADHD had significantly lower levels of social motivation than both their typically developing control counterparts, and children with ADHD. This is consistent with current preliminary literature investigating social motivation in children and adolescents with ADHD, which suggests that social motivation deficits in ADHD do not arise until adolescence ( McKay et al, 2023 ; Smith & Langberg, 2018 ). Furthermore, this study found that typically developing children and adolescents did not significantly differ in their social motivation, whereas adolescents with ADHD had significantly lower levels of social motivation than children with ADHD.…”

“…The social difficulties experienced by individuals with ADHD have been attributed to a variety of underlying factors, such as deficits in social cognition (e.g., emotional perception and social knowledge; Bora & Pantelis, 2016 ), maladaptive ADHD symptomatology (e.g., excessive hyperactivity and impulsivity; McQuade & Hoza, 2015 ), and difficulties in social performance (i.e., failure to enact social knowledge; Aduen et al, 2018 ), however a recent study has implicated the role of social motivation ( McKay et al, 2023 ). Social motivation is a core element of social functioning, and refers to the seeking, fostering, and enjoyment of social interactions ( Chevallier et al, 2012 ).…”

“…However, some research suggests individuals with ADHD may experience altered trajectories of social motivation ( Chevallier et al, 2012 ; Clements et al, 2018 ). Despite children with and without ADHD experiencing similar levels of social motivation ( Smith & Langberg, 2018 ), adolescents with ADHD exhibit significantly lower levels of social motivation than their typically developing peers ( McKay et al, 2023 ). As such, social motivation may decline rather than peak during adolescence for those with ADHD.…”

Atypical Biological Motion Perception in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Local Motion and Global Configuration Processing

“…Further exploration of a diverse range of social cognitions (e.g., biological motion perception) can provide a fresh perspective on the impaired social function observed in ADHD. Moreover, recent studies have indicated that the social cognition in ADHD may vary depending on different factors at the cognitive, pathological, or developmental levels, such as general cognitive impairment 5 , symptoms severity 8 , or age 5 . Nevertheless, understanding how these factors relate to social cognitive dysfunction of in ADHD is still in its infancy.…”