A new nationally representative study published online in the International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology found that two out of five adults (42%) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) had excellent mental health. To be considered in excellent mental health, participants had to report: no mental illness in the past year (ie, substance use disorders, depression, anxiety, suicidality); almost daily happiness or satisfaction with life in the last month; and high levels of social and psychological well-being in the last month.
“This finding provides a very hopeful message for both people struggling with ADHD and their loved ones,” says lead author Esme Fuller-Thomson, a professor at the Factor-Inwentash School of Social Work at the University of Toronto and director Institute for Life Course and Aging.
“This research marks a paradigm shift. Most previous research, including mine, has focused on mental illness among people with ADHD, so focusing on people who are mentally thriving is refreshing and very encouraging.” .
The researchers examined a nationally representative sample of 480 respondents with ADHD and 21,099 respondents without ADHD from Statistics Canada’s Canadian Community Mental Health Survey.
The study identified several factors that were associated with complete mental health among people with ADHD. People who did not have chronic pain and had no history of depression or anxiety in their life were more likely to thrive.
Our findings emphasize the importance of addressing comorbid mental health problems when providing care for people with ADHD. People with ADHD who also struggle with depression and anxiety face significant barriers to achieving full mental health and can benefit from targeted care. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a very promising intervention that has been shown to be effective for people with ADHD.”
Bradyn Ko, co-author, recent graduate of the Master of Social Work (MSW) program, University of Toronto
Other factors that were associated with complete mental health included being married, being physically active, and using spirituality to cope with daily challenges.
“These results highlight potentially modifiable risk factors for supporting well-being in adults with ADHD,” says co-author Lauren Carrique, a recent MSW graduate from the University of Toronto. “Compared with being sedentary, engaging in optimal levels of physical activity approximately quadrupled the odds of complete mental health. This underscores the potential value of physical activity in helping people with ADHD achieve excellent mental health.”
The study also identified specific subpopulations of adults with ADHD who may be less likely to be in full mental health, such as women.
“The finding that the women surveyed were less likely to have flourishing mental health highlights specific vulnerabilities among women with ADHD,” says co-author Andie MacNeil, a recent Master of Social Work graduate from the University of Toronto. “This aligns with other research that has found higher rates of depression, anxiety and suicidality among women with ADHD, which may partly explain this gap in mental well-being.”
The prevalence of complete mental health among people without ADHD was 73.8%, which was significantly higher than the 42.0% of people with ADHD who had complete mental health.
“Although we were surprised and delighted to find that two in five adults with ADHD had excellent mental health, they still lag far behind their peers without ADHD, for whom 74% were thriving. There is still a long way to go for close … the mental health gap between those with and without ADHD,” says Fuller-Thomson. “This study draws attention to this gap, while also emphasizing potential mechanisms to reduce this discrepancy.”
Source:
Magazine Reference:
Fuller-Thomson, E., et al. (2022). Thriving despite attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A population-based study of mental well-being. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology. doi.org/10.1007/s41042-022-00062-6.
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