Differences in heterosocial behavior and outcomes of ADHD-symptomatic subtypes in a college sample

Rejection sensitivity and social outcomes of young adult men with ADHD

OBJECTIVE

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been consistently linked to social maladjustment. This study investigated whether elevated rejection sensitivity (RS) could contribute to the relational problems that adults with ADHD encounter.

METHOD

Undergraduate men in ADHD-Combined Type (ADHD-C; n = 31), ADHD-Primarily Inattentive Type (ADHD-IA; n = 22), and nondiagnosed control (NC; n = 25) groups completed questionnaires concerning RS, relational history, current relationships, and self-esteem.

RESULTS

The hypothesis that those with ADHD would have elevated RS (versus NC peers) was not supported. However, low RS predicted divergent outcomes across groups. Furthermore, ADHD-IA men reported more negative relational outcomes than their ADHD-C peers, although both groups reported lower general self-esteem than controls.

CONCLUSION

Perhaps the positive illusory bias associated with childhood ADHD could buffer RS development. Findings provide evidence of ADHD-related impairment in adult relationships, further differentiate the principal ADHD subtypes, and extend the RS literature to this clinical population.

ADHD in college students

OBJECTIVE

According to the American Psychiatric Association, 3% to 7% of the school-age population has ADHD and many children continue to display significant symptoms throughout adolescences and adulthood. Relative to the childhood literature, less is known about ADHD in adults, especially college students with ADHD. The principle purpose of this review articles is to summarize the major research findings concerning ADHD in the college student population with regard to prevalence of symptoms, neuropsychological and psychological functioning. Overall, findings suggest that college students with ADHD are at greater risk for academic and psychological difficulties, and they perform similar to non-ADHD controls on many neuropsychological tasks. These findings are preliminary, however, and are tempered by the small number of studies that have been conducted as well as the methodological limitations of these studies.

CONCLUSION

Future research using larger sample sizes, rigorous assessment criteria, and a longitudinal design is needed to better understand the psychological, academic, and neuropsychological functioning of college students with ADHD. Studies are also needed to elucidate the effects of pharmacological and nonpharmacological effects of treatment on the functioning of college students with this disorder.

Parenting in mothers with and without attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder

The authors examined the impact of maternal attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on parenting behaviors. Sixty mothers between the ages of 31 and 50 with (n = 30) and without (n = 30) ADHD and their 8- to 14-year-old children with ADHD completed self-report and laboratory measures of monitoring of child behavior, consistency in parenting, and parenting problem-solving abilities. These parenting behaviors were selected because of their established links to the development of child behavior problems. As predicted, mothers with ADHD were found to be poorer at monitoring child behavior and less consistent disciplinarians compared with mothers without ADHD. There was some evidence to support the prediction that mothers with ADHD were less effective at problem solving about childrearing issues than control mothers. The differences between the 2 groups of mothers persisted after child oppositional and conduct-disordered behavior were controlled. These results indicate that parenting is an area of functioning that requires more attention in adult ADHD research.

Adjustment, social skills, and self-esteem in college students with symptoms of ADHD

Many studies of ADHD have shown that the problems associated with the disorder continue into adolescence and beyond for 10% to 60% of patients. The present study assesses several aspects of college adjustment, social skills, and self-esteem in a nonreferred sample of college students meeting criteria for a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) diagnosis of ADHD. Twenty-one undergraduate students with symptoms of ADHD are compared to 20 students without significant ADHD symptoms, who match the ADHD students on age, gender, and grade point average. Students with ADHD symptoms show decreased functioning in several areas of college adjustment as well as lower levels of self-reported social skills and self-esteem. The results also suggest that the relation between ADHD and college adjustment is partially mediated by self-reported levels of self-esteem.