Executive and Daily Life Functioning Influence the Relationship Between ADHD and Mood Symptoms in University Students.

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Executive and Daily Life Functioning Influence the Relationship Between ADHD and Mood Symptoms in University Students.

J Atten Disord. 2020 Jan 23;:1087054719900251

Authors: Mohamed SMH, Börger NA, van der Meere JJ

Abstract
Objectives: Many studies have indicated a close relationship between ADHD and mood symptoms in university students. In the present study, we explore the role of daily functional impairments and executive functioning in the ADHD-mood relationship. Method: A total of 343 adults (126 males) filled out (a) the Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale, (b) the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale, (c) the Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale, and (d) the Executive Function Index Scale. Results: The correlation between mood symptoms and ADHD was .48 (moderate correlation) and dropped to .15 (weak correlation) when controlling for functional problems and executive functioning. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that both functional impairments and executive functioning significantly explained 42% to 53% of the variance of mood symptoms. The addition of ADHD symptoms to the model slightly increased the explained mood variance by only 1%. Conclusion: These findings underline the role of experienced difficulties in triggering mood symptoms in ADHD symptomatology.

PMID: 31971050 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

via https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31971050?dopt=Abstract