Big five dimensions and ADHD symptoms: links between personality traits and clinical symptoms

Amygdala Volume is Associated with ADHD Risk and Severity Beyond Comorbidities in Adolescents: Clinical Testing of Brain Chart Reference Standards

Understanding atypicalities in ADHD brain correlates is a step towards better understanding ADHD etiology. Efforts to map atypicalities at the level of brain structure have been hindered by the absence of normative reference standards. Recent publication of brain charts allows for assessment of individual variation relative to age- and sex-adjusted reference standards and thus estimation not only of case-control differences but also of intraindividual prediction.

METHODS

Aim was to examine, whether brain charts can be applied in a sample of adolescents (N = 140, 38% female) to determine whether atypical brain subcortical and total volumes are associated with ADHD at-risk status and severity of parent-rated symptoms, accounting for self-rated anxiety and depression, and parent-rated oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) as well as motion.

RESULTS

Smaller bilateral amygdala volume was associated with ADHD at-risk status, beyond effects of comorbidities and motion, and smaller bilateral amygdala volume was associated with inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity, beyond effects of comorbidities except for ODD symptoms, and motion.

CONCLUSIONS

Individual differences in amygdala volume meaningfully add to estimating ADHD risk and severity. Conceptually, amygdalar involvement is consistent with behavioral and functional imaging data on atypical reinforcement sensitivity as a marker of ADHD-related risk. Methodologically, results show that brain chart reference standards can be applied to address clinically informative, focused and specific questions.

ADHD Symptoms in Childhood and Big Five Personality Traits in Adolescence: A Five-Year Longitudinal Study in Girls

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a childhood-onset neurodevelopmental condition characterized by developmentally extreme and impairing symptoms of inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity. Great interest has emerged in the ways ADHD and its underlying symptom dimensions relate to the development of personality traits. Much extant research on this topic is cross-sectional, relying on self-report measures and male samples. Herein, we present data from a prospective, longitudinal study of a socioeconomically and racially diverse sample of girls, including those with ADHD and a matched neurotypical comparison sample. We examined how parent- and teacher-reported ADHD in middle childhood relate to self-reported Big Five personality traits in adolescence. As expected, childhood ADHD diagnosis prospectively predicted lower self-reported Conscientiousness, lower Agreeableness, and higher Neuroticism in adolescence. With ADHD diagnosis covaried, Inattention (IA) predicted only low Conscientiousness, Hyperactivity/Impulsivity (HI) predicted only low Agreeableness, and neither predicted adolescent Neuroticism. An exploratory moderator analysis showed that family income moderated the effects of IA and HI on the negativity of adolescent self-descriptions of their own personalities, with more pronounced negative effects for girls in families with higher (rather than lower) income. Familial pressures to achieve in higher-income families may be linked to more pronounced negative ramifications of ADHD on personality development.

Using rodent data to elucidate dopaminergic mechanisms of ADHD: Implications for human personality

An altered behavioral response to positive reinforcement has been proposed to be a core deficit in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR), a congenic animal strain, displays a similarly altered response to reinforcement. The presence of this genetically determined phenotype in a rodent model allows experimental investigation of underlying neural mechanisms. Behaviorally, the SHR displays increased preference for immediate reinforcement, increased sensitivity to individual instances of reinforcement relative to integrated reinforcement history, and a steeper delay of reinforcement gradient compared to other rat strains. The SHR also shows less development of incentive to approach sensory stimuli, or cues, that predict reward after repeated cue-reward pairing. We consider the underlying neural mechanisms for these characteristics. It is well known that midbrain dopamine neurons are initially activated by unexpected reward and gradually transfer their responses to reward-predicting cues. This finding has inspired the dopamine transfer deficit (DTD) hypothesis, which predicts certain behavioral effects that would arise from a deficient transfer of dopamine responses from actual rewards to reward-predicting cues. We argue that the DTD predicts the altered responses to reinforcement seen in the SHR and individuals with ADHD. These altered responses to reinforcement in turn predict core symptoms of ADHD. We also suggest that variations in the degree of dopamine transfer may underlie variations in personality dimensions related to altered reinforcement sensitivity. In doing so, we highlight the value of rodent models to the study of human personality.

Trait mindfulness and personality characteristics in a microdosing ADHD sample: a naturalistic prospective survey study

Background

Microdosing (MD), repeatedly taking psychedelics in small, non-hallucinogenic amounts, has been practiced by individuals to relieve attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Generally, adults diagnosed with ADHD have lower levels of mindfulness and differ in personality structure from non-ADHD adults. How MD affects mindfulness and personality in adults with ADHD remains unexplored.

Aim

This study aimed to investigate the effects of 4 weeks of MD on mindfulness and personality traits in adults diagnosed with ADHD and those experiencing severe ADHD symptoms. It was expected that mindfulness and the personality traits conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and openness would increase and neuroticism would decrease after 4 weeks of MD compared to baseline. It was explored if using conventional ADHD medication alongside MD and/or having comorbidities influenced MD-induced effects.

Methods

An online prospective naturalistic design was used to measure participants before MD initiation and 2 and 4 weeks later. Validated self-report measures were used assessing mindfulness (15-item Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire) and personality traits (10-item version of the Big Five Inventory) at three time points.

Results

The sample included n = 233, n = 66, and n = 44 participants at the three time points, respectively. Trait mindfulness, specifically description and non-judging of inner experience, was increased, and neuroticism was decreased after 4 weeks of MD compared to baseline. The remaining personality traits remained unchanged. Using conventional medication and/or having comorbid diagnoses did not change the MD-induced effects on mindfulness and personality traits after 4 weeks.

Conclusion

MD induced changes in otherwise stable traits. Future placebo-controlled studies are warranted to confirm whether these changes occur in a controlled setting.

Alerting network, cognitive flexibility in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and the moderating effect of neuroticism

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder, and cognitive flexibility is a sub-component of executive functioning. Studies have shown impairments in cognitive flexibility in ADHD, which is affected by attentional processes. Personality, as a long-standing trait, has a profound effect on ADHD. However, previous studies have not assessed the relationship between attentional function, personality traits, and cognitive flexibility in children with ADHD. This study explored the association between attention networks, personality, and cognitive flexibility in ADHD, filling a gap in the related field. We expect our findings will provide insights into and clues for the prevention and interventional treatment of ADHD. This study primarily aimed to analyze differences in cognitive flexibility between individuals with ADHD and those without and further examine associations between attention networks, personality, and cognitive flexibility in children with ADHD. Overall, 55 children aged 7 to 11 years diagnosed with ADHD and 40 children without ADHD participated in this study. Cognitive flexibility, personality traits, and attentional networks were assessed using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and Attention Network Test, respectively. Additionally, the association between personality traits and strong attentional functioning and cognitive flexibility was investigated using multiple regression analysis. Children with ADHD had significant deficits in cognitive flexibility. A multiple regression analysis revealed that the alerting effect was highly associated with cognitive flexibility at high levels of neuroticism. This association was not salient in individuals with low levels of neuroticism. This study demonstrated that the ADHD group experienced lower cognitive flexibility than the control group. In addition, we showed the effect of neuroticism and alerting networks on cognitive flexibility. These findings may help psychiatrists provide intervention strategies to mitigate the impairment of social functioning in ADHD with cognitive spirituality deficits.

Construction of Meta-Thinking Educational Program Based on Mental-Brain Simulation (MTMBS) and Evaluating its Effectiveness on Executive Functions, Emotion Regulation, and Impulsivity in Children With ADHD: A Resting-State Functional MRI Study

OBJECTIVE

The aim of present research was to make a Meta-Thinking educational program based on mental-brain simulation and to evaluate its effectiveness on executive functions, emotion regulation and impulsivity in children with ADHD.

METHODS

The research method was Embedded Design: Embedded Experimental Model. The research sample included 32 children with ADHD who were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The intervention was implemented for eight sessions of 1.5 hr for the experimental group, and fMRI images were taken from them, while the control group didn't receive any treatment. Finally, using semi-structured interviews, coherent information was collected from the parents of the experimental group about the changes made. Data were analyzed with SPSS-24, MAXQDA, fMRIprep, and FSL software.

RESULTS

The Meta-Thinking Educational Program had effect on performance of ADHD children and suppressed brain regions related to DMN.

CONCLUSION

The Implementation of this educational program plays a vital role in improving psychological problems of children with ADHD.

Validation of the post-traumatic stress disorder subscale of the child behaviour checklist (PTSD-CBCL): screening for post-traumatic stress disorder or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder?

PURPOSE

Almost 20% of children and adolescents who attend in mental health centres are witnesses of domestic violence (WDVs). It would therefore be clinically useful to have an appropriate screening instrument for this population, such as the PTSD-CBCL. Our aim here was thus to assess the psychometric properties of relevant tools by determining their internal consistency, sensitivity/specificity, and positive/negative predictive values in our centre's population.

METHODS

We recruited 194 parents of children aged 4-16 at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service of the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu and Els Pins primary school. This sample was divided into: (1) a WDV group (n = 104); (2) an ADHD diagnosis group (n = 28); and (3) a general population (GP) primary school group (n = 62).

RESULTS

The PTSD-CBCL total reliability score was high (Cronbach's alpha = 0.87). We found significant mean difference for WDV vs. GP (MD = 8.57; p < 0.001) with significantly higher mean scores in WDV than in GP. We also found significant differences for ADHD vs. GP (MD = 6.91; p < 0.001) with higher mean scores in ADHD than in GP. We observed good discriminatory power indices in the following group comparisons: WDV vs. GP, ADHD vs. GP, WDV vs. ADHD + GP, and GP vs. WDV + ADHD. Nevertheless, the PTSD-CBCL did not discriminate WDV vs. ADHD.

CONCLUSIONS

Thus, we conclude that the PTSD-CBCL instrument has good discriminatory power in general and clinical populations, and could be implemented in the context of prevention and early intervention after trauma.

The Genetic and Neural Substrates of Externalizing Behavior

Background

To gain more insight into the biological factors that mediate vulnerability to display externalizing behaviors, we leveraged genome-wide association study summary statistics on 13 externalizing phenotypes.

Methods

After data classification based on genetic resemblance, we performed multivariate genome-wide association meta-analyses and conducted extensive bioinformatic analyses, including genetic correlation assessment with other traits, Mendelian randomization, and gene set and gene expression analyses.

Results

The genetic data could be categorized into disruptive behavior (DB) and risk-taking behavior (RTB) factors, and subsequent genome-wide association meta-analyses provided association statistics for DB and RTB (N _eff = 523,150 and 1,506,537, respectively), yielding 50 and 257 independent genetic signals. The statistics of DB, much more than RTB, signaled genetic predisposition to adverse cognitive, mental health, and personality outcomes. We found evidence for bidirectional causal influences between DB and substance use behaviors. Gene set analyses implicated contributions of neuronal cell development (DB/RTB) and synapse formation and transcription (RTB) mechanisms. Gene-brain mapping confirmed involvement of the amygdala and hypothalamus and highlighted other candidate regions (cerebellar dentate, cuneiform nucleus, claustrum, paracentral cortex). At the cell-type level, we noted enrichment of glutamatergic neurons for DB and RTB.

Conclusions

This bottom-up, data-driven study provides new insights into the genetic signals of externalizing behaviors and indicates that commonalities in genetic architecture contribute to the frequent co-occurrence of different DBs and different RTBs, respectively. Bioinformatic analyses supported the DB versus RTB categorization and indicated relevant biological mechanisms. Generally similar gene-brain mappings indicate that neuroanatomical differences, if any, escaped the resolution of our methods.

Revisiting the seven pillars of RDoC

BACKGROUND

In 2013, a few years after the launch of the National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative, Cuthbert and Insel published a paper titled "Toward the future of psychiatric diagnosis: the seven pillars of RDoC." The RDoC project is a translational research effort to encourage new ways of studying psychopathology through a focus on disruptions in normal functions (such as reward learning or attention) that are defined jointly by observable behavior and neurobiological measures. The paper outlined the principles of the RDoC research framework, including emphases on research that acquires data from multiple measurement classes to foster integrative analyses, adopts dimensional approaches, and employs novel methods for ascertaining participants and identifying valid subgroups.

DISCUSSION

To mark the first decade of the RDoC initiative, we revisit the seven pillars and highlight new research findings and updates to the framework that are related to each. This reappraisal emphasizes the flexible nature of the RDoC framework and its application in diverse areas of research, new findings related to the importance of developmental trajectories within and across neurobehavioral domains, and the value of computational approaches for clarifying complex multivariate relations among behavioral and neurobiological systems.

CONCLUSION

The seven pillars of RDoC have provided a foundation that has helped to guide a surge of new studies that have examined neurobehavioral domains related to mental disorders, in the service of informing future psychiatric nosology. Building on this footing, future areas of emphasis for the RDoC project will include studying central-peripheral interactions, developing novel approaches to phenotyping for genomic studies, and identifying new targets for clinical trial research to facilitate progress in precision psychiatry.

Automatic Personality Assessment through Movement Analysis

Obtaining accurate and objective assessments of an individual's personality is vital in many areas including education, medicine, sports and management. Currently, most personality assessments are conducted using scales and questionnaires. Unfortunately, it has been observed that both scales and questionnaires present various drawbacks. Their limitations include the lack of veracity in the answers, limitations in the number of times they can be administered, or cultural biases. To solve these problems, several articles have been published in recent years proposing the use of movements that participants make during their evaluation as personality predictors. In this work, a multiple linear regression model was developed to assess the examinee's personality based on their movements. Movements were captured with the low-cost Microsoft Kinect camera, which facilitates its acceptance and implementation. To evaluate the performance of the proposed system, a pilot study was conducted aimed at assessing the personality traits defined by the Big-Five Personality Model. It was observed that the traits that best fit the model are Extroversion and Conscientiousness. In addition, several patterns that characterize the five personality traits were identified. These results show that it is feasible to assess an individual's personality through his or her movements and open up pathways for several research.

Annual Research Review: The contributions of the RDoC research framework on understanding the neurodevelopmental origins, progression and treatment of mental illnesses

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) proposed the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative as an alternate way to organize research of mental illnesses, by looking at dimensions of functioning rather than being tied to categorical diagnoses. This paper briefly discusses the motivation for and organization of RDoC, and then explores the NIMH portfolio and recent work to monitor the utility and progress that RDoC has afforded developmental research. To examine how RDoC has influenced the NIMH developmental research portfolio over the last decade, we employed a natural language processing algorithm to identify the number of developmental science grants classified as incorporating an RDoC approach. Additional portfolio analyses examine temporal trends in funded RDoC-relevant grants, publications and citations, and research training opportunities. Reflecting on how RDoC has influenced the focus of grant applications, we highlight examples from research on Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), childhood irritability, and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Lastly, we consider how the dimensional and transdiagnostic approaches emphasized in RDoC have facilitated research on personalized intervention for heterogeneous disorders and preventive/early interventions targeting emergent or subthreshold psychopathology.

Personality disorders, depression and anxiety in mothers of children with ADHD and anxiety disorders in Iran

BACKGROUND/AIM

This study aims to assess and compare personality disorders and psychiatric disorders (depression and anxiety) in mothers of children with ADHD and anxiety disorders aged 2-16 years living in Iran.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Participants were 168 mothers (100 with children having ADHD and 68 with children having anxiety disorders). The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) were used for assessing personality disorders, depression and anxiety in mothers. Collected data were analysed in SPSS software.

RESULTS

Of 168 mothers, only 100 completed the questionnaires completely (68 having children with ADHD and 32 with anxious children). Of 100 mothers, 61 had personality disorders, where 21 had children with anxiety disorders and 40 had children with ADHD. The most common personality disorder was depressive personality disorder (n = 27) followed by compulsive personality disorder (n = 15). No antisocial, borderline and paranoid personality disorders were observed in mothers. Based on DASS-21, 72 mothers had depression, and 84 had anxiety. Based on the SCL-90-R, 86 had depression, and 81 had anxiety. We found no statistically significant difference between the two groups of mothers in terms of personality disorders, depression and anxiety.

CONCLUSION

Prevalence of depression, anxiety and personality disorders in mothers of children with anxiety disorders and ADHD in Iran is high, and there is no difference between them. It is recommended that psychiatric and psychological counseling be provided for these mothers.

Is the temperamental trait of high persistence protective in siblings? - A comparative, exploratory study of healthy siblings, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder probands

BACKGROUND

Study of temperament in first-degree relatives is an important line of inquiry to substantiate temperament as an etiological marker.

AIM

This study aims to compare temperament in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and their healthy siblings and to assess the association between ADHD symptoms and temperament dimensions in healthy siblings.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

The study was carried out in the outpatient department of psychiatry in a tertiary care teaching hospital. A cross-sectional design with nonprobabilistic sampling technique was used for data collection.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A hundred children (50 children with ADHD and 50 siblings-one for each child with ADHD) were assessed retrospectively on temperament measurement schedule (TMS) and conners parent rating scale-revised: short form (CPRS-R: S).

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0 was used for statistical analysis. Mean and standard deviation and frequency and percentage were computed for continuous and categorical variables, respectively. Student's t-test was computed to compare means of the two groups and regression analysis was computed to see for the variance in ADHD subscale scores explained by temperament scores on TMS.

RESULTS

Siblings scored highest on the intensity of reaction and lowest on threshold of responsiveness. Compared to probands, siblings scored significantly higher on persistence and lower on activity level, even after controlling for gender. Persistence trait had a significant negative correlation with and explained 7.4% to 21% of variance of all CPRS-R: S subscales. Persistence and distractibility together explained 23.2% of inattention scores.

CONCLUSION

Higher persistence in siblings appears to offer protection to these at-risk individuals who do not have ADHD; favoring the dual pathway model of ADHD.

Longitudinal Temperament Pathways to ADHD Between Childhood and Adolescence

The current investigation extended prior cross-sectional mapping of etiological factors, transdiagnostic effortful and affective traits, and ADHD symptoms to longitudinal pathways extending from two etiological domains: polygenic and prenatal risk. Hypotheses were (1) genetic risk for ADHD would be related to inattentive ADHD symptoms in adolescence and mediated by childhood effortful control; (2) prenatal smoking would be related to hyperactive-impulsive ADHD symptoms during childhood and mediated by childhood surgency; and (3) there would be age-related variation, such that mediation of genetic risk would be larger for older than younger ages, whereas mediation of prenatal risk would be larger in earlier childhood than at later ages. Participants were 849 children drawn from the Oregon ADHD-1000 Cohort, which used a case control sample and an accelerated longitudinal design to track development from childhood (at year 1 ages 7-13) through adolescence (at year 6 ages 13-19). Results showed the mediational pathway from prenatal smoking through surgency to hyperactivity-impulsivity at Year 1 was significant (indirect effect estimate = .053, p < .01). The mediational pathway from polygenic risk through effortful control to inattention at Year 6 was also significant (indirect effect estimate = .084, p < .01). Both results were independent of the association between inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity and control for the alternative etiological input and held across parent- and teacher-report of ADHD symptoms. In line with dual pathway models of ADHD, early prenatal risk for hyperactivity-impulsivity appears to operate through surgency, while polygenic genetic risk for inattention appears mediated by effortful control.

Temperament Profiles Associated with Internalizing Symptoms and Externalizing Behavior in Adolescents with ADHD

The current study investigated temperament profiles associated with internalizing symptoms and externalizing behavior in adolescents with ADHD. Participants were 121 adolescents (90 males) with ADHD, ranging in age from 13 to 18 years (M = 15.40, SD = 1.59). Emotional and behavioral ratings were obtained using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and temperament profiles were assessed by administering the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Multivariate profile analyses and post hoc tests revealed that youth high in internalizing symptoms were significantly higher in harm avoidance and lower in self-directedness. Youth high in externalizing behavior were significantly lower in cooperativeness. No cognitive differences were observed across groups, but youth high in externalizing behavior had more ADHD symptoms and greater impairment in daily life. Findings reveal unique temperament factors associated with comorbid concerns, which may have implications for adapting and personalizing intervention efforts based on these different profiles within adolescents with ADHD.

Adopting the Concept of ‘Ba' and the ‘SECI' Model in Developing Person-Centered Practices in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

The concept of knowledge is divided into explicit and tacit knowledge; explicit knowledge refers to the knowledge that can be articulated, written and stored, while tacit knowledge refers to personal experiences, values, beliefs and emotions of an individual. By Nonaka's theory, explicit and tacit knowledge do not lie separately but interact together by interactions and relationships between human beings. Thus, the SECI model is based on the assumption that knowledge is created through the social interaction of tacit and explicit knowledge; known as knowledge conversion. The SECI model is based upon four modes of knowledge conversion; socialization, externalization, combination and internalization. 'Ba' is considered to be a shared platform for knowledge creation. 'Ba' is a shared space, be it physical, mental or a combination of both that serves as a foundation of knowledge creation. Ba involves sharing of tacit knowledge i.e. emotions, feelings, experiences and mental images. It also involves the formation of a collective relationship which is open to the sharing of practices, values, processes and culture. This concept focuses mainly on the individual as a person who holds the knowledge rather than just on the knowledge itself. It aims to create a common space to bring people together where they can dialogue to share and create knowledge. As in the relationships formed in person-centered practices, relationships formed in Ba are based on not just the sharing of objective knowledge but also on sharing values, beliefs, and emotions. It also reflects the formation of a person-centered environment as a basis for person-centered research where healthful relationships with the participants are formed. Furthermore, Ba will aid in creating a sense of connectiveness and dialogue, thus focusing on the idea that the development of new practices is done with others rather than to others. In this article we will discuss how these Eastern concepts can be adapted and used to develop person-centered practices within child and adolescent mental health services, specifically related to rehabilitation and recovery. The concepts of personhood will be discussed, followed by a reflection on current practices adopted when working with children and adolescents.

Do Emotion Dysregulation, Alexithymia and Personality Dimensions Explain the Association Between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Binge Eating Among Bariatric Surgery Candidates?

Background: Addictive-like eating and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are both common among persons seeking treatment for severe obesity. Given that ADHD and addictive-like eating, especially binge eating (BE) and food addiction (FA), are both strongly associated with personality dimensions and emotion dysregulation, it is possible emotional and personality characteristics contribute to the link between addictive-like eating behaviors and ADHD in people with severe obesity. This study aimed to investigate the psychological factors associated with BE and FA in bariatric surgery candidates, and to explore the mediational role of emotional factors (emotion dysregulation and alexithymia) and personality dimensions in the association between ADHD and BE.

Method: Two hundred and eighty-two (n = 282) bariatric surgery candidates were recruited during the systematic preoperative psychiatric assessment (University Hospital of Tours, France). We assessed significant BE (Binge Eating Scale), probable adult ADHD (Wender Utah Render Scale and Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale), FA (Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0, YFAS 2.0), emotion dysregulation (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-16), alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20) and personality dimensions (Big Five Inventory). Mediation analyses were performed using the PROCESS macro for IBM SPSS Statistics 22.

Results: Prevalence of probable adult ADHD, significant BE and FA were 8.2, 19.1, and 26.6%, respectively. Participants who screened positive for addictive-like eating showed higher prevalence of probable adult ADHD, as well as higher scores on adult and childhood ADHD symptoms. They also reported lower conscientiousness, but higher emotion dysregulation, higher alexithymia, and higher neuroticism. Only BE (as opposed to FA) was also associated with lower scores on agreeableness and openness. Analysis of the association between adult ADHD and BE suggests that emotion dysregulation, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism are total mediators and alexithymia a partial mediator.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest a significant association between ADHD and addictive-like eating among bariatric surgery candidates, and also suggest a significant role of emotion dysregulation and personality dimensions in this association. For individuals with ADHD and obesity, eating may be a way to cope with negative emotions, potentially increasing the risk for addictive-like eating behavior.

Mind-Wandering Mediates the Associations Between Neuroticism and Conscientiousness, and Tendencies Towards Smartphone Use Disorder

Mounting evidence suggests that smartphone overuse/smartphone use disorder (SmUD) is associated with negative affectivity. Given a large number of smartphone users worldwide (currently about 4.7 billion) and the fact that many individuals carry their smartphones around 24/7, it is of high importance to better understand the phenomenon of smartphone overuse. Based on the interaction of person-affect-cognition-execution (I-PACE) model, we investigated the links between SmUD and the personality traits, neuroticism and conscientiousness, which represent two vulnerability factors robustly linked to SmUD according to a recent meta-analysis. Beyond that, we tested the effects of mind-wandering (MW) and fear of missing out (FoMO) in the relation between individual differences in personality and tendencies towards SmUD. The effective sample comprised 414 study participants (151 men and 263 women, age M = 33.6, SD = 13.5). By applying a structural equation modeling (SEM) technique, we observed that the associations of higher neuroticism and lower conscientiousness with higher levels of SmUD were mediated by higher scores in mind-wandering. These novel findings can help to understand the associations between personality and SmUD in more detail.

A Common CDH13 Variant Is Associated with Low Agreeableness and Neural Responses to Working Memory Tasks in ADHD

The cell—cell signaling gene CDH13 is associated with a wide spectrum of neuropsychiatric disorders, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, and major depression. CDH13 regulates axonal outgrowth and synapse formation, substantiating its relevance for neurodevelopmental processes. Several studies support the influence of CDH13 on personality traits, behavior, and executive functions. However, evidence for functional effects of common gene variation in the CDH13 gene in humans is sparse. Therefore, we tested for association of a functional intronic CDH13 SNP rs2199430 with ADHD in a sample of 998 adult patients and 884 healthy controls. The Big Five personality traits were assessed by the NEO-PI-R questionnaire. Assuming that altered neural correlates of working memory and cognitive response inhibition show genotype-dependent alterations, task performance and electroencephalographic event-related potentials were measured by n-back and continuous performance (Go/NoGo) tasks. The rs2199430 genotype was not associated with adult ADHD on the categorical diagnosis level. However, rs2199430 was significantly associated with agreeableness, with minor G allele homozygotes scoring lower than A allele carriers. Whereas task performance was not affected by genotype, a significant heterosis effect limited to the ADHD group was identified for the n-back task. Heterozygotes (AG) exhibited significantly higher N200 amplitudes during both the 1-back and 2-back condition in the central electrode position Cz. Consequently, the common genetic variation of CDH13 is associated with personality traits and impacts neural processing during working memory tasks. Thus, CDH13 might contribute to symptomatic core dysfunctions of social and cognitive impairment in ADHD.

The Khoekhoegowab Personality Inventory: The Comparative Validity of a Locally Derived Measure of Traits

Objective: This study explores a personality inventory derived from the results of an indigenous lexical study of personality. From the 272 most commonly used personality descriptors in Khoekhoegowab, the most-spoken of extant Khoesan click languages of southern Africa, an 11-factor model of personality-trait structure was identified. Here, the Khoekhoegowab Personality Inventory (KPI) was created based on those results. Its psychometric properties, the convergent and divergent validity of its scales, and its incremental validity over Big Five and Six traits for predicting physical and mental health, religious practice and attitudes, and income are reported. Methods: Two to five key terms were selected for each of 10 KPI scales: Temperance, Prosocial Diligence, Gossip, Honesty/Morality, Temper, Implacability, Humility, Vanity, Resiliency vs. Agitation, and Courage vs. Fear. These 38 total items were administered to a large sample of adult speakers of Khoekhoegowab in Namibia (N = 632), together with five imported inventories translated into Khoekhoegowab: the 30-item Questionnaire Big Six (QB6), General Self-Reported Health, the Cascades Mental Health Assessment, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Duke Religion Index. The properties and intercorrelations of KPI subscales are explored, and their predictive ability for the other variables is compared to that of the QB6. Results: Due to the small number of items on each scale, poor internal consistency was anticipated, but the KPI scales' properties were somewhat better than those of the QB6. R-square change by the inventories as a whole, after accounting for age and gender, indicted that the KPI scales explained more variance than the QB6 scales in almost all criterion variables. Replication of established associations for Big Six traits was mixed: associations were largely as expected for Resiliency, Conscientiousness, and Honesty, but less so for Agreeableness and Extraversion. Conclusions: The KPI had some advantages over the QB6 in predicting physical and mental health. In particular, the four items of Resiliency vs. Agitation predicted lower scores on all physical and mental problem scales. Given psychological-care needs in Namibia, this might be used as a non-intrusive screener. Measurement challenges common to both surveys are discussed, possible solutions, and the utility of higher-order structures are discussed.

Adult ADHD and emerging models of maladaptive personality: a meta-analytic review

BACKGROUND

ADHD is a highly consequential disorder that is estimated to affect 2.5% of the adult population. Emerging models of psychopathology posit that disorders like ADHD can be usefully situated within general models of individual differences in personality, such as those recently implemented in the DSM and ICD for the diagnosis of personality disorder. Previous research and systematic reviews have linked adult ADHD to the personality traits Conscientious Inhibition and Negative Emotionality. However, there have been some inconsistencies in the literature and research embedding ADHD-personality connections in the DSM-5 and ICD-11 personality disorder models has been limited. The goal of this paper was to systematically review associations between adult ADHD and personality traits, organized within a maladaptive five factor framework.

METHOD

A comprehensive literature search yielded 13 papers whose effects were meta-analyzed.

RESULTS

Results supported associations between ADHD and low Conscientious Inhibition and high Negative Emotionality. However, interesting patterns of variability were observed, potentially related to issues such as instrumentation and facet variation.

CONCLUSION

Results support the clinical application of personality assessment for suggesting risk for ADHD symptoms, and point to important directions for further research.

Is an irritable ADHD profile traceable using personality dimensions? Replicability, stability, and predictive value over time of data-driven profiles

Pediatric attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a heterogeneous condition. In particular, children with ADHD display varying profiles of dispositional traits, as assessed through temperament and personality questionnaires. Previous data-driven community detection analyses based on temperament dimensions identified an irritable profile of patients with ADHD, uniquely characterized by elevated emotional dysregulation symptoms. Belonging to this profile increased the risk of developing comorbid disorders. Here, we investigated whether we could replicate this profile in a sample of 178 children with ADHD, using community detection based on personality dimensions. Stability of the identified profiles, of individual classifications, and clinical prediction were longitudinally assessed over a 1-year interval. Three personality profiles were detected: The first two profiles had high levels of neuroticism, with the first displaying higher ADHD severity and lower openness to experience (profile 1; N = 38), and the second lower agreeableness (profile 2; N = 73). The third profile displayed scores closer to the normative range on all five factors (profile 3; N = 67). The identified profiles did only partially replicate the temperament-based profiles previously reported, as higher levels of neuroticism were found in two of the three detected profiles. Nonetheless, despite changes in individual classifications, the profiles themselves were highly stable over time and of clinical predictive value. Whereas children belonging to profiles 1 and 2 benefited from starting medication, children in profile 3 did not. Hence, belonging to an emotionally dysregulated profile at baseline predicted the effect of medication at follow-up over and above initial ADHD symptom severity. This finding suggests that personality profiles could play a role in predicting treatment response in ADHD.

Examination of developmental pathways from preschool temperament to early adolescent ADHD symptoms through initial responsiveness to reward

To identify sources of phenotypic heterogeneity in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) accounting for diversity in developmental/ pathogenic pathways, we examined, in a large sample of youth (N = 354), (a) associations between observed temperamental emotionality at age 3, an electrocortical index (i.e., reward positivity [RewP]) of initial responsiveness to reward at age 9, and ADHD symptoms at age 12, and (b) whether the association between emotionality and ADHD symptoms is mediated by initial responsiveness to reward. Bivariate analyses indicated greater positive emotionality (PE) was associated with enhanced RewP, lower age-9ADHD and lower age-12 inattention (IA). Negative emotionality (NE) was not associated with RewP or ADHD. Mediation analyses revealed the association between PE and hyperactivity/impulsivity (H/I) was mediated by RewP; enhanced RewP was associated with greater H/I. Greater PE was associated with enhanced RewP at a trend level. These effects held accounting for age-9 ADHD, age-12 IA and age-12 oppositional defiant and conduct disorder symptoms. As such, preschool emotionality is associated with adolescent ADHD-H/I symptoms through late childhood initial responsiveness to reward. These relations indicate that individual differences in emotionality and reward responsiveness may be informative for personalizing ADHD interventions.

Five-year outcomes of ADHD diagnosed in adulthood

There is a dearth of long-term follow-up studies of adults diagnosed with ADHD. Here, the aim was to evaluate long-term outcomes in a group of ADHD patients diagnosed in adulthood and receiving routine psychiatric health care. Adults diagnosed with any type of ADHD (n = 52) and healthy controls (n = 73) were assessed at baseline and at a 5-year follow-up, using Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), Clinical Global Impression (CGI), Brown ADD Scale (BADDS) and Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS). A multivariate regression method was used to identify factors predicting 5-year outcomes, including baseline ratings, medication intensity, comorbidity, intelligence quotient (IQ), age, and sex. After 5 years, ADHD patients reported fewer and/or less severe symptoms compared to baseline, but remained at clinically significant symptom levels and with functional deficits. Baseline self-reports of ADHD symptoms predicted their own 5-year outcome and low baseline functioning level predicted improved global functioning at follow-up. Factors previously reported to predict short-term outcomes (i.e., medication, comorbidity, IQ, age, and sex) did not anticipate long-term outcomes in present study.

From BIS/BAS to the big five

Gray (1987) proposed two systems that underlie much of our behaviour and personality. One system relates to avoidance or withdrawal behaviour, called the Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS), whereas the other system relates to approach behaviour, called the Behavioural Approach System (BAS). In two samples, it was investigated whether individual differences in surface of personality as described by the Big Five can be explained by BIS/BAS. Neuroticism and Extraversion could be explained well by BIS/BAS, but also for Agreeableness and Conscientiousness consistent findings were obtained. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Development of ADHD: Etiology, Heterogeneity, and Early Life Course

ADHD represents a powerful entry point for developmental approaches to psychopathology due to its major role in early emergence of major life problems. One key issue concerns the role of early environmental risks in etiology and maintenance in the context of genetic liability. Here, psychosocial aspects of development need more attention. A second key issue is that phenotypic heterogeneity requires better resolution if actionable causal mechanisms are to be effectively identified. Here, the interplay of cognition and emotion in the context of a temperament lens is one helpful way forward. A third key issue is the poorly understood yet somewhat striking bifurcation of developmental course in adolescence, when a subgroup seem to have largely benign outcomes, while a larger group continue on a problematic path. A final integrative question concerns the most effective conceptualization of the disorder in relation to broader dysregulation. Key scientific priorities are noted.

Development of ADHD: Etiology, Heterogeneity, and Early Life Course

ADHD represents a powerful entry point for developmental approaches to psychopathology due to its major role in early emergence of major life problems. One key issue concerns the role of early environmental risks in etiology and maintenance in the context of genetic liability. Here, psychosocial aspects of development need more attention. A second key issue is that phenotypic heterogeneity requires better resolution if actionable causal mechanisms are to be effectively identified. Here, the interplay of cognition and emotion in the context of a temperament lens is one helpful way forward. A third key issue is the poorly understood yet somewhat striking bifurcation of developmental course in adolescence, when a subgroup seem to have largely benign outcomes, while a larger group continue on a problematic path. A final integrative question concerns the most effective conceptualization of the disorder in relation to broader dysregulation. Key scientific priorities are noted.

Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire: Factor Structure Based on CFA and ESEM, and Associations with ADHD

Revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (r-RST) of personality is a major neuropsychological theory of motivation, emotion and personality. This paper presents the results of a study examining: (1) the factor structure of the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM); and (2) the relationships of the r-RST constructs in the RST-PQ with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptom groups of inattention (IA) and hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI). A total of 572 (Sample 1) and 309 (Sample 2) adults completed the RST-PQ. Participants in Sample 2 also completed a questionnaire measuring ADHD symptoms. Results revealed more support for the ESEM model with six factors than the CFA model. For both the ESEM and CFA models, both IA and HI symptom groups were associated positively with the RST-PQ constructs of behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral approach system (BAS) Impulsivity, with IA also associated negatively with the BAS-Goal-Drive Persistence. The theoretical implications of these findings for understanding the factor structure of the RST-PQ, and for ADHD (IA and HI) in terms of r-RST, are discussed.

Executive functions, Personality traits and ADHD symptoms in adolescents: A mediation analysis

Certain personality traits and cognitive domains of executive functions (EF) are differentially related to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in adolescents. This study aimed to analyze the five-factor model (FFM) personality characteristics in adolescents with ADHD, and to examine whether EF mediate the relationships between FFM personality traits and ADHD symptoms. A comprehensive diagnostic assessment, including ADHD clinical interviews, ADHD rating scales, neuropsychological EF testing (i.e., working memory, flexibility and inhibition) and a personality assessment was carried out in a sample of 118 adolescents (75 ADHD and 43 control participants, 68% males), aged 12 to 16 years, and their parents and teachers. Adolescents with ADHD had lower scores than control participants on Conscientiousness and Agreeableness, and higher scores on Neuroticism. Structural equation models (SEM) showed that Conscientiousness directly influenced inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms, while Neuroticism, Agreeableness, and Extraversion directly affected hyperactive-impulsive symptoms. Only Conscientiousness exerted indirect effects on inattention, but not on hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms, via EF; higher scores on Conscientiousness were related to higher scores on EF, which in turn were related to lower scores on inattentive symptoms. These findings corroborate the relationships between ADHD symptoms, FFM personality traits and EF and indicate the mediating effect of EF on the relationship between Conscientiousness and inattention.

Psychiatric disorders, suicidality, and personality among young men by sexual orientation

Personality and its potential role in mediating risk of psychiatric disorders and suicidality are assessed by sexual orientation, using data collected among young Swiss men (n = 5875) recruited while presenting for mandatory military conscription. Mental health outcomes were analyzed by sexual attraction using logistic regression, controlling for five-factor model personality traits and socio-demographics. Homo/bisexual men demonstrated the highest scores for neuroticism-anxiety but the lowest for sociability and sensation seeking, with no differences for aggression-hostility. Among homo/bisexual men, 10.2% fulfilled diagnostic criteria for major depression in the past 2 weeks, 10.8% for ADHD in the past 12 months, 13.8% for lifetime anti-social personality disorder (ASPD), and 6.0% attempted suicide in the past 12 months. Upon adjusting (AOR) for personality traits, their odds ratios (OR) for major depression (OR = 4.78, 95% CI 2.81–8.14; AOR = 1.46, 95% CI 0.80–2.65) and ADHD (OR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.31–3.58; AOR = 1.00, 95% CI 0.58–1.75) lost statistical significance, and the odds ratio for suicide attempt was halved (OR = 5.10, 95% CI 2.57–10.1; AOR = 2.42, 95% CI 1.16–5.02). There are noteworthy differences in personality traits by sexual orientation, and much of the increased mental morbidity appears to be accounted for by such underlying differences, with important implications for etiology and treatment.

Creativity in children with ADHD: Effects of medication and comparisons with normal peers

This study is to identify the performance of children with and without ADHD in open-ended and closed-ended creativity assessments, and investigate the moderating effect of medicated and unmedicated Children. The study subjects included third to sixth graders: 43 children with ADHD and 43 typically developing children. The participants with ADHD were those who were identified by local Committees of Identification, Placement and Consultation for Children with Special Needs or those who were diagnosed by medical institutions. Children with ADHD were further divided into medicated (22 participants) and unmedicated groups (21 participants) based on their current medication treatment. This study employed the New Tests of Creative Thinking to gauge the participants' open-ended creativity, while Remote Associates Test and the Insight Test were used to assess the participants' closed-ended creativity. Although previous evidence for creativity in children with ADHD have been mixed, this study includes medication as moderation variable and suggests that the performance of unmedicated children with ADHD in the open-ended creativity assessments was better than medicated children with ADHD and typically developing children. The study results can further explore the creativity characteristics of children with ADHD.

The role of maladaptive personality domains across multiple levels of the HiTOP structure

This study aimed to examine associations between maladaptive personality traits and psychopathology from the perspective of the hierarchical taxonomy of psychopathology (HiTOP). We tested hierarchical structural models to further validate a portion of the structural components of HiTOP. We also tested a priori personality and psychopathology associations with three levels of the HiTOP hierarchy: general psychopathology, spectra and syndromes/disorders. We used a large sample from the general Australian population who completed a large set of personality and psychopathology inventories online. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that internalizing, externalizing and thought dysfunction spectra emerged structurally, as expected per HiTOP, but also revealed that obsessive-compulsive disorder loaded on both internalizing and thought dysfunction and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder on both externalizing and internalizing. Furthermore, results indicated that almost all personality and psychopathology hypotheses were supported, although trait antagonism did not predict externalizing to the degree initially expected. Implications for personality and psychopathology are discussed. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Maternal personality traits moderate treatment response in the Multimodal Treatment Study of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Some mothers of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) present with maladaptive personality profiles (high neuroticism, low conscientiousness). The moderating effect of maternal personality traits on treatment outcomes for childhood ADHD has not been examined. We evaluate whether maternal neuroticism and conscientiousness moderated response in the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD. This is one of the first studies of this type. In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), 579 children aged 7-10 (M = 8.5); 19.7% female; 60.8% White with combined-type ADHD were randomly assigned to systematic medication management (MedMgt) alone, comprehensive multicomponent behavioral treatment (Beh), their combination (Comb), or community comparison treatment-as-usual (CC). Latent class analysis and linear mixed effects models included 437 children whose biological mothers completed the NEO Five-Factor Inventory at baseline. A 3-class solution demonstrated best fit for the NEO: MN&MC = moderate neuroticism and conscientiousness (n = 284); HN&LC = high neuroticism, low conscientiousness (n = 83); LN&HC = low neuroticism, high conscientiousness (n = 70). Per parent-reported symptoms, children of mothers with HN&LC, but not LN&HC, had a significantly better response to Beh than to CC; children of mothers with MN&MC and LN&HC, but not HN&LC, responded better to Comb&MedMgt than to Beh&CC. Per teacher-reported symptoms, children of mothers with HN&LC, but not LN&HC, responded significantly better to Comb than to MedMgt. Children of mothers with high neuroticism and low conscientiousness benefited more from behavioral treatments (Beh vs. CC; Comb vs. MedMgt) than other children. Evaluation of maternal personality may aid in treatment selection for children with ADHD, though additional research on this topic is needed.

ADHD symptoms in the adult general population are associated with factors linked to ADHD in adult patients

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder in children and adults. It is characterized by inappropriate levels of inattention (IA) and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity (HI). The ADHD diagnosis is hypothesized to represent the extreme of a continuous distribution of ADHD symptoms in the general population. In this study, we investigated whether factors linked to adult ADHD as a disorder are associated with adult ADHD symptoms in the general population. Our population-based sample included 4987 adults (mean age 56.1 years; 53.8% female) recruited by the Nijmegen Biomedical Study (NBS). Participants completed the Dutch ADHD DSM-IV Rating Scale for current and childhood ADHD symptoms, the Symptom Check List-90-R (SCL-90-R) anxiety subscale, and the Eysenk Personality Questionnaire (EPQR-S). Partial Spearman correlation and Hurdle negative binomial regression analysis were used to assess how age, sex, childhood ADHD symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, and psychoticism) are associated with current IA and HI symptoms. Increasing age was associated with a lower proportion of participants reporting HI symptoms and with reduced levels of HI; IA levels remained fairly stable over the age-range, but the probability of reporting IA symptoms increased throughout middle/late adulthood. Females were more likely to report IA symptoms than males. Childhood ADHD symptoms, neuroticism, and psychoticism were positively associated with current IA and HI symptoms, while extraversion had an opposite association with these symptom domains. Anxiety symptoms affected HI symptoms in females. Our results indicate that factors associated with categorical ADHD are also correlated with ADHD symptoms in the adult population.

Individual Differences in Response to Ambiguous Stimuli in a Modified Go/No-Go Paradigm are Associated with Personality in Family Dogs

Cognitive biases, often used as indices of affective and emotional states, are associated with individual differences in personality in humans and have been observed in nonhuman animals, including dogs. Although dogs have complementary advantages over traditional animal models of human cognition, little is known about the relationship between dogs’ cognitive bias and personality. Here, we examined in 29 family dogs (representing 14 breeds and 12 mutts; M_age = 4.59 years, SD = 2.90), the association between naturally occurring – as opposed to experimentally induced – cognitive bias, indexed via active choice behavior in a Go/No-Go (GNG) paradigm reflecting positive/negative expectations about ambiguous stimuli, and owner-rated personality. In a subsample we additionally assessed whether prior inhibition, personality, and inattention (IA)/hyperactivity/impulsivity (H/I) results could be replicated in a modified paradigm. We also explored whether expanding the response time-window would increase GNG errors and whether dogs exhibited differences in their behavioral approach to uncertainty. Findings indicated dogs with higher conscientiousness and extraversion scores were more likely to exhibit a “go” response to ambiguous stimuli. Replicability across prior and current results was generally established, e.g., as previously, IA did not predict GNG performance but extraversion did, whereas H/I predicted different indices of GNG performance. Increased response time-window did not result in differential performance, except for less commission errors. No differences in behavioral response strategy to trained “no-go” and to ambiguous stimuli were apparent. Results evince the dog is a promising animal model of the association between an optimistic cognitive bias and personality.

Associations of personality traits with internet addiction in Chinese medical students: the mediating role of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms

BACKGROUND

Internet addiction (IA) has emerged as a public health concern, particularly among adolescents and young adults. However, few studies have been conducted in medical students. This multi-center study aimed to investigate the prevalence of IA in Chinese medical students, to examine the associations of big five personality traits with IA in the population, and to explore the possible mediating role of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in the relationship.

METHODS

Self-reported questionnaires, including Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Big Five Inventory (BFI), Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale-V1.1 (ASRS-V1.1) Screener, and socio-demographic section were distributed to clinical students at 3 medical schools in China. A total of 1264 students became the final subjects.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of IA among Chinese medical students was 44.7% (IAT > 30), and 9.2% of the students demonstrated moderate or severe IA (IAT ≥ 50). After adjustment for covariates, while conscientiousness and agreeableness were negatively associated with IA, neuroticism was positively associated with it. ADHD symptoms mediated the associations of conscientiousness, agreeableness and neuroticism with IA.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of IA among Chinese medical students is high. Both personality traits and ADHD symptoms should be considered when tailored intervention strategies are designed to prevent and reduce IA in medical students.

The role of effortful control in the development of ADHD, ODD, and CD symptoms

Many adolescents have difficulty regulating their impulses and become prone to externalizing problems (e.g., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], oppositional defiant disorder [ODD], and conduct disorder [CD]) and other adverse consequences. Using multimethod data from a longitudinal study of Mexican-origin youth (N = 674), assessed annually from age 10 to 16, we examined the relations between effortful control and ADHD, ODD, and CD symptoms over time. Bivariate latent growth curve models showed negative correlations between the trajectories of effortful control and ADHD, ODD, and CD, indicating that steeper decreases in effortful control were related to steeper increases in ADHD, ODD, and CD symptoms. Using a novel statistical technique, the factor of curves model (FOCUS), we found that ADHD, ODD, and CD share a common "externalizing" trajectory during adolescence. Although effortful control was strongly associated with this common trajectory, it had few unique associations with the individual disorder trajectories, above and beyond their shared trajectory. When we extended the FOCUS model to include the effortful control trajectory as an indicator, we found that ADHD and ODD had strong loadings, whereas effortful control and CD had comparatively weak loadings on the shared developmental trajectory. Follow-up analyses showed that a two-factor solution, with externalizing symptom trajectories on one factor and the effortful control facet trajectories on a separate factor, was a better fit to the data than a one-factor solution. Finally, parent ASPD symptoms were related to increases in CD, but had no significant influence on effortful control, ADHD, or ODD. We discuss the implications for personality and externalizing problem development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Do Personality Traits Predict Functional Impairment and Quality of Life in Adult ADHD? A Controlled Study

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association of personality traits and characteristics on quality of life and functioning in adults with ADHD.

METHOD

Participants were adults with ( n = 206) and without ADHD ( n = 123) who completed the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q), and the Social Adjustment Scale-Self-Report (SAS-SR). Participants also provided information on academic, motor vehicle operation, legal, social, familial, and occupational functioning. Outcomes were examined using stepwise linear regression, logistic regression (for binary outcomes), and negative binomial regression (for count outcomes) controlling for ADHD symptoms, psychiatric comorbidity, and executive dysfunction.

RESULTS

Adults with ADHD significantly differed from controls across nearly all TCI personality domains. On average, adults with ADHD endorsed more novelty seeking, harm avoidance, and self-transcendence, and less reward dependence, persistence, self-directedness, and cooperativeness. Personality traits and characteristics, especially self-directedness, significantly predicted functional impairments even after controlling for ADHD symptoms, executive function deficits, and current psychiatric comorbidities.

CONCLUSION

In adults with ADHD, personality traits exert unique associations on quality of life and functional impairment across major life domains, beyond the relations expected of and associated with ADHD symptoms and other associated psychiatric conditions and cognitive vulnerabilities. Addressing personality traits in adults with ADHD may lead to improvements in quality of life and reductions in functional impairment.

Relation between temperament dimensions and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms

INTRODUCTION

The relation between temperament and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is complex and understood in different ways, with the most common being risk model and spectrum model. However, the evidence is mixed and emerging.

AIM

To assess the relationship between ADHD symptoms and temperament dimensions in a clinical sample of school-aged children.

METHODS

A retrospective assessment of temperament of 50 children with ADHD was done on temperament measurement schedule. The mean and standard deviation was computed for continuous variables and frequency and percentage for discontinuous variables and correlation and regression analysis was computed.

RESULTS

Children with ADHD were high on activity level, intensity of reaction, approach, and distractibility and low on persistence and threshold of responsiveness. The strength of significant correlations between temperamental dimensions and ADHD symptoms (P < 0.05) ranged from 0.32 to 0.41. On regression analysis, temperament could explain 22% variance of inattention subscale and around 20% variance in hyperactivity/impulsivity subscale.

CONCLUSION

This moderate level of relation suggests that though certain temperamental traits are related to symptoms of ADHD, temperament and ADHD are phenotypically separate constructs, further favoring the risk model.

Mapping self-report questionnaires for socio-emotional characteristics: What do they measure?

Abstract Whereas the structure of individual differences in many social and emotional attributes is well understood in adults, much less work has been done in children and adolescents. The main goals of this research were to specify the major content domains that are assessed across multiple socioemotional instruments (self-esteem, grit, self-efficacy, strengths and difficulties, Big Five) in research in the United States and Europe, to test them in a less developed context with considerable educational challenges (Brazilian schools). We selected the five most promising instruments and studied their structure at the item level in a large sample of Brazilian school students (N = 3,023). The extracted factors to capture the major domains of child differences represented in these instruments closely resembled the Big Five personality dimensions. We discuss the contribution of our findings to the assessment of socio-emotional skills in education research, as well as limitations of the current study, and suggestions for future research.

Proprioceptive Indicators of Personality and Individual Differences in Behavior in Children With ADHD

Researchers have suggested that the link between personality traits and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) could be a crucial factor in understanding the disorder’s diatheses. The aim of our study was to contribute to research on personality differences (based on fine motor precision – a novel approach) in children with and without ADHD symptoms. The Children Sustained Attention Task (CSAT) and Proprioceptive Diagnostics of Temperament and Character (DP-TC) were administered to children with an ADHD diagnosis and age-matched controls. Correlational and ANOVA analyses were performed to see the association between the results of both tests and the groups’ performance. Correlational analysis suggests significant relationships between some personality dimensions (DP-TC) and correct detection in a sustained attention task (CSAT). Statistically significant differences were found between the groups on the personality dimensions (DP-TC), with the following characteristics for ADHD children: (a) temperamental tendency to pessimism; (b) high temperamental excitability; (c) high Emotionality, and (d) Behavioral Rigidity (meaning also less adaptation to changes in the environment, in temperament and character). Correct detection in the sustained attention test was significantly correlated with reaction time and the personality variables Style of Attention and Irritability. The results also showed high proprioceptive Emotionality and lack of emotional control in children with ADHD. This is an exploratory study, investigating for the first time the differences in personality (based on fine motor precision) and the relation of personality traits to scores in sustained attention for children with and without ADHD.

Maternal ADHD Symptoms, Personality, and Parenting Stress: Differences Between Mothers of Children With ADHD and Mothers of Comparison Children

OBJECTIVE

Mothers raising a child with ADHD can experience high parenting stress. We evaluated if mothers' personality traits and own ADHD symptoms could also affect parenting stress.

METHOD

430 biological mothers from the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA mothers) and 237 of a local normative comparison group (LNCG mothers) were evaluated at baseline. Interactions were tested between mothers' group and maternal personality/ADHD symptoms related to parenting stress.

RESULTS

Compared to LNCG, MTA mothers had higher parenting stress, self-reported ADHD, neuroticism, and lower conscientiousness and agreeableness. When personality and ADHD were evaluated together, ADHD symptoms interacted with mothers' group: high maternal ADHD was positively associated with parenting stress for LNCG but not MTA mothers.

CONCLUSION

Personality traits or ADHD characteristics do not appear operative for the high parenting stress of mothers of a child with ADHD. However, high maternal ADHD or low conscientiousness are associated with stress levels similar to raising a child with ADHD.