Attentional Control Explains Covariation Between Symptoms of Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Anxiety During Adolescence

Symptoms of attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety are common during adolescence and frequently co‐occur. However, the genetic and environmental influences that underlie this co‐occurrence are understudied. Using a large twin sample (N = 1,017), we examined cross‐sectional genetic and environmental influences on ADHD and anxiety symptoms during childhood. We also explored whether these influences were shared with attentional control, a putative mechanism for symptom comorbidity. We found evidence for common genetic and nonshared environmental influences on the covariation among attentional control, ADHD, and anxiety symptoms, supporting the putative role of attentional control as a mechanism by which comorbid problems may develop. Genetic factors also accounted for symptom co‐occurrence after controlling for covariation with attentional control, suggesting the presence of additional unmeasured mechanisms.     

Anxiety and depression among college students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Cross-informant,sex, and subtype differences

Objective: This study examined symptoms of anxiety and depression among college students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants: Data were collected between March 2011 and March 2016 from 150 college students with ADHD and 150 college students without ADHD. Method: Participants with ADHD were compared to a sex- and ethnicity-matched control group. For the ADHD group, parent and self-report of anxiety and depression were also compared. Results: College students with ADHD self-reported significantly higher anxiety and depressive symptoms than did students without ADHD. Scores on parent-report measures of anxiety and depressive symptoms were significantly higher than scores on self-report measures. Significant sex differences were found for participants with ADHD, with females showing higher depressive and anxiety symptoms than males. Parent-reported anxiety symptoms were higher for those with inattentive type ADHD compared to combined type ADHD. Conclusion: The current study highlights the importance of multi-informant assessment in ADHD evaluations for college-aged adults.     

Conceptualizing effective interventions for smartphone addiction among Korean female adolescents

This study is the first of its kind to conceptualize effective interventions for smartphone addiction among female adolescents in South Korea using a mixed method concept-mapping approach. The participants were Korean female adolescents (N = 36) who had been referred to an Internet addiction treatment centers due to their smartphone addiction problems. Concept mapping was conducted to collect, organize, and interpret qualitative data using quantitative techniques such as hierarchical cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling. The study found five clusters of effective interventions: involuntary restriction, self-awareness and self-control, school restrictions, peer support, and professional services. This conceptual framework can be utilized in planning and developing interventions for female adolescents with smartphone addiction.     

Long‐term use of methylphenidate continues to confer benefits

Patients continue to receive benefits from treatment for attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with methylphenidate after long‐term use, researchers have found. Some patients may be withdrawn from the medication, however. Therefore, all patients should be assessed periodically to determine whether they continue to need the medication. The study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, was conducted because, while long‐term use of methylphenidate for children with ADHD is frequent clinical practice, its benefits are unclear. They looked at whether the medication remains beneficial after 2 years. Methylphenidate, a stimulant, has been controversial in some quarters because it is a controlled substance, However, the first‐line treatment for ADHD is psychostimulant medication, such as methylphenidate. How long children should take is is a question, but 60% of children receive stimulant treatment for ADHD for more than 2 years, and this is increasingly common, extending even into adolescence and adulthood. This is partly due to the awareness that ADHD is not a pediatric‐only condition. The study, “Continued benefits of methylphenidate in ADHD after 2 years in clinical practice: A randomized placebo‐controlled discontinuation study,” was published online May 21 by the American Journal of Psychiatry.     

Saffron as good as methylphenidate in treating ADHD

Short‐term treatment with saffron — which comes from the crocus plant and is known to cooks as one of the most important and expensive ingredients of various dishes — is as effective in treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as methylphenidate, researchers have found in one small trial. The study, “Crocus sativus L. Versus Methylphenidate in Treatment of Children with Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Randomized Double‐Blind Pilot Study,” was published in the February issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. Methylphenidate is a controlled substance, a stimulant with addictive properties.     

Perceived social support in Chinese parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in a Chinese context: Implications for social work practice

This article reports the results of a Hong Kong study (no. of parents = 121) which identified perceived social support (PSS), both overall and four types of support, of Chinese parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and examined the impact of PSS on the interrelationship between the ADHD symptoms and parenting stress. The parents perceived support of their primary social network as more satisfactory than professionals’. Parenting stress of the high PSS group was lower than the low PSS group’s. The PSS-overall, parenting role, and the ADHD symptoms explained a significant variance of parenting stress. The results pave the way to develop a complex social work model in helping.     

A Survey of Wellness/Healthy Lifestyling on College and University Campuses

Abstract

Mental health providers at university counseling and health centers should be alert to the possibility that college students with previously unrecognized attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may present for initial evaluation at their centers. This study was a systematic chart review of 42 students at an Upper Midwest university who were diagnosed with ADHD during calendar year 1993. Diagnoses were made by the treating psychiatrist, who reviewed records for presenting problems; recent associated problems; previous evaluations as a child, adolescent, or adult; and associated problems in childhood. Presenting problems included ADHD symptoms, mood symptoms, nonspecific learning disability, and academic underachievement. Associated problems were depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, drug and alcohol abuse or both, dependency, legal problems, learning disabilities, and eating disorders. Thirty-three percent had been evaluated for academic or behavior problems as children, and 36% had sought previous psychological care for non-ADHD symptoms as adults. Thirty-one percent were presenting at the university health center for their first evaluation. Childhood histories showed educational underachievement, learning disabilities, and behavior problems.     

Stimulants for preschool ADHD down,A2As up

The diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is decreasing among children ages 2 to 5 in Kentucky, but the use of alpha‐2 agonists (A2As, such as clonidine and guanfacine) is increasing, and the use of stimulants is decreasing. The researchers urge long‐term follow‐up of these children, as well as vigilance in checking diagnosis and treatment. For the study, published in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology and based on Medicaid claims, the researchers were not able to ascertain whether the diagnoses or the treatments were appropriate.     

Relational Troubles and Semiofficial Suspicion: Educators and the Medicalization of “Unruly” Children

Using an interview‐based analysis of the accounts of interactions between educators, parents, and clinicians, this study explores educators' roles in interpreting childhood troubles as the medical phenomenon of attention deficit‐hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The analysis of interviews shows how children's “personal” troubles become understood as “relational” ones, prompting increasingly sophisticated social responses. I argue that the institution of education, operating in a clinical capacity but lacking the legitimate authority to assign ADHD diagnoses, plays a hybridized, semiofficial role in the medicalization process. This assertion informs a critique of the “informal/official” dichotomy found in the sociology of deviance lexicon, and furthers previous positions in the sociology of mental health that have implicated school representatives in the social construction of behavior disorders.     

Impulsivity and Sustained Attention in Pathological Gamblers: Influence of Childhood ADHD History

Pathological gambling (PG) has been associated to both impulsiveness and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in different studies. Our objective was to compare different impulsivity and sustained attention variables, using both behavioural tasks and self-administered questionnaires, in a group of pathological gamblers with a history of childhood ADHD (PG-ADHD; n = 16), a group of pathological gamblers without this history (PG-non-ADHD; n = 39), and a control group (n = 40). As instruments of measure, we used the stop signal task (to evaluate inhibitory control/impulsivity), the differential reinforcement of Low Rate Responding Task (delay of gratification/impulsivity) and the Continuous Performance Test (sustained attention). The Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11) was used as a self-administered questionnaire to measure impulsiveness.Our results show that patients in the PG-ADHD group exhibit a significantly lower capacity to delay gratification than those in the PG-non-ADHD and control groups, and less inhibitory control than patients in the PG-non-ADHD group. On self-administered questionnaires such as the BIS-11 the PG-ADHD group obtained higher scores than the PG-non-ADHD and control groups. However, no differences were found with respect to sustained attention using the CPT.Our results suggest a possible selective implication of the prefrontal cortex in PG, which would be especially evident in those with a childhood history of ADHD.     

Parental Depression and Anxiety and Early Childhood Behavior Problems Across Family Types

Using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we examine the association between parental major depressive and generalized anxiety disorders and child behavior problems across family types: married, cohabiting, involved nonresident father, and noninvolved nonresident father. Among 3‐year‐olds in all families, maternal anxiety/depression is associated with increased odds of anxious/depressed, attention deficit, and oppositional defiant disorders (N = 2,120). Paternal anxiety/depression has no significant association with these problem behaviors; father’s illness, however, exacerbates anxious/depressed behaviors in young children if both parents are ill and he is coresident. The findings underscore the importance of maternal mental health for child well‐being and suggest that a negative interaction between parent illnesses is most likely when parents and children share the same disorder.     

Young Adult Romantic Couples’ Conflict Resolution and Satisfaction Varies with Partner's Attention–Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Type

Attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has previously been associated with less satisfaction and success in romantic relationships. This study compares conflict resolution and problem‐solving behaviors in young adult romantic couples either having one partner with ADHD combined type (C‐couples), having one partner identified with ADHD inattentive type (IA‐couples), or in which neither partner has an ADHD diagnosis (nondiagnosed [ND] couples). Self‐reports of current and childhood ADHD symptoms corroborated diagnostic status and speaker and listener behaviors, coded via the Rapid Couples Interaction Scoring System (Gottman, 1996), were the primary dependent variables. Analyses revealed greater negativity and less positivity in C‐couples’ behavior during a conflict resolution task, relative to IA and ND couples, and this corresponded with couples’ relational satisfaction. IA‐couples emitted relational behavior that was largely similar to ND couples. Findings support that relational impairment exists in C‐couples, and to some degree, contrast with previous research suggesting that individuals with predominant inattention experience greater social impairment in adulthood than those with other types of ADHD.     

DISCIPLINING DOMESTICITY: Framing the ADHD Parent and Child

This article is a qualitative analysis of the literature that has been directed at parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The analysis explores the manner in which texts embodying etiological and treatment discourses surrounding ADHD and its diagnostic precursors (hyperactivity, hyperkinesis, minimal brain dysfunction, ADD, etc.) provide frameworks for an administration of discipline in domestic life. Through the examination of a cross-section of six popular ADHD parenting guides and supplemental textual data sources, this study analyzes how such texts gain credibility with their audience, "frame" the experience of ADHD, and prescribe methods in which the domestic sphere may regulate ADHD-related behaviors. The textual data for the present study should be understood as "ideological representations"(Smith 1990), the analysis of which resonates with much of the disciplinary critique in contemporary social theory, especially the work of Michel Foucault (1977).     

Dictating the boundaries of ab/normality: a critical discourse analysis of the diagnostic criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and hyperkinetic disorder

In this article we report the findings of a critical discourse analysis of the diagnostic criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and hyperkinetic disorder (HD) in two clinical manuals – Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition and International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition. We examine the actions (behaviors) that are said to indicate the presence of ADHD/HD and analyze what the inclusion of these actions reveals about the relationship between ADHD/HD, cultural knowledge, and values. Our analysis reveals that both manuals use subjective, value-laden language to construct a mentally ill individual in opposition to an unseen, supposedly ‘normal’ person. We argue that the current criteria draw into question whether ADHD/HD meets the manuals’ own definitions of a disorder, and further that the discourse of the manuals is intertwined with the everyday practices of schools and serve to legitimize status quo educational practices.     

Parent–Child Interactive Stress in Chinese Families with Children Who Have Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal - The situations of Chinese parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other related comorbidities are under-explored in...     

Adolescent Internalizing Symptoms and the “Tightknittedness” of Friendship Groups

Adolescents with depression have lower peer status overall, but tend to befriend each other. We examined the “tightknittedness” of their friendship groups by testing whether adolescent friendship groups’ average levels of or variability in internalizing symptoms predict group cohesiveness. We used four waves (9th–12th grades) of survey and social network data on 3,013 friendship groups from the PROmoting School‐Community‐University Partnerships to Enhance Resilience study. Friendship groups with higher average depressive symptoms were less cohesive; groups with higher average anxiety symptoms had greater reciprocity. Groups with greater variability in depressive symptoms had greater density; variability in anxiety symptoms was not consistently associated with cohesion. The friendship groups of depressed adolescents appear less cohesive than the “typical” adolescent friendship group.     

Professor Perceptions of College Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Objective: From April to June 2005, the authors investigated professor perceptions of college students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants: 253 participants completed the ADHD Beliefs Survey-Revised, a 40-question survey measuring professor perceptions of ADHD. Methods: Analysis of variance measured false and reasonable beliefs related to ADHD. Results: Results indicated that professors with differing levels of education, years of teaching experience, colleges in the university or community college, previous experiences with a student with ADHD, and ADHD training did not differ significantly in perceptions regarding general ADHD knowledge or college students with ADHD.     

Problem Gambling in Adolescents: An Examination of the Pathways Model

This research tests the applicability of the Integrated Pathways Model for gambling to adolescent problem gamblers, utilizing a cross-sectional design and self-report questionnaires. Although the overall sample consisted of 1,133 adolescents (Quebec: n = 994, 87.7 %; Ontario: n = 139, 12.3 %: Male = 558, 49.5 %; Female = 569, 50.5 %), only problem gamblers were retained in testing the model (N = 109). Personality and clinical features were assessed using the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory, attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) using the Conners–Wells’ Adolescent Self-Report Scale, and the DSM-IV-MR-J and Gambling Activities Questionnaire to determine gambling severity and reasons for gambling. Latent class analysis concluded 5 classes, yet still provided preliminary support for three distinct subgroups similar to those proposed by the Pathways Model, adding a depression only subtype, and a subtype of problem gamblers experiencing both internalizing and externalizing disorders. ADHD symptoms were found to be common to 4 of the 5 classes.     

Self‐Focused Attention and Career Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Career Adaptability

The purpose of this study was to examine how 2 forms of self‐focused attention, self‐reflection and self‐rumination, influence career anxiety. The authors hypothesized that the association between these 2 types of self‐focused attention and career anxiety would be mediated by career adaptability on the basis of a career construction model of adaptation. The participants were 326 undergraduate students in South Korea. The results of this study supported the hypothesized mediation model by indicating significant indirect effects of self‐reflection and self‐rumination on career anxiety via career adaptability. The direct effect of self‐rumination on career anxiety was significant (B = .44, p < .01), but the direct effect of self‐reflection on career anxiety was not significant (B = –.05, p > .05). The authors discuss implications for counselors to help college students manage career anxiety by encouraging and supporting increased career adaptability. Future research to examine the cross‐cultural validity of the current findings is needed.     

Comparison of two approaches to prevention of mental health problems in college students: Enhancing coping and executive function skills

Objective: College students face a significant number of stressors, increasing risk for internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. The current study examines two promising avenues of intervention aimed to reduce stress and prevent psychopathology in this population: a coping skills group and a cognitive training program. Participants: 62 undergraduate students from two universities were recruited from 2013 to 2015. Methods: Students were randomized to a 6-week coping skills group or cognitive training program and completed measures of stress, coping, executive function, and symptoms of anxiety, depression and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at pre- and post-intervention. Results: Participants in both conditions reported significant decreases in social stress, executive function difficulties, and anxiety symptoms post-intervention. Students in the cognitive program improved significantly more on measures of behavior regulation and ADHD symptoms compared to the coping group at post-intervention. Conclusions: Brief stress management interventions targeting coping and executive function may benefit college students at risk for psychopathology.