Adult ADHD
Visual Abstract
Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy, and Resources in Adults With ADHD
Patricia Elizabeth Newark , Marina Elsässer , Rolf-Dieter Stieglitz
Summarized by:
August 15, 2023
study source
J Atten Disord
March 2016
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What they studied
Do adults with ADHD have lower self-esteem and self-efficacy?
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What they found
A case-control study found that adults with ADHD tended to have lower self-esteem and self-efficacy compared to those without ADHD. They also had fewer resources to draw from for support.
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What this means
This study supports the key role that family, friends, community, and a stable career can play in improving quality of life for adults with ADHD.
Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy, and Resources in Adults With ADHD
Objectives
This study wanted to see whether adults with ADHD had different levels of self-esteem, self-efficacy, and resources they could call upon compared to those without ADHD
ADHD has been increasingly recognized as a condition affecting adults and children.
While many children with ADHD improve over time, some continue to have ADHD as adults. This has been linked with worse outcomes and more difficulties in everyday life:
Study Quote
The purpose of this study is to shed light on therapy-relevant factors, such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, and resources in adults with ADHD in comparison with a healthy control group.
Methods
Researchers ran a case-control study comparing 43 adults with ADHD to 43 similar adults without ADHD. This study design allowed researchers to identify potential differences liked with ADHD.
Study Quote
A total of 43 adults who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; DSM-IV-TR) criteria for ADHD in adulthood were matched with a nonclinical sample in terms of age and gender. All participants (N = 86) were assessed with self-ratings: Symptom Checklis...
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Results
Consistent with previous studies, researchers found that adults with ADHD tended to have lower self-esteem, lower self-efficacy, and greater psychological distress:
Self-esteem and self-efficacy among adults with ADHD
Adults with more resources, including support from their family, better work environments, and more leisure time tended to have lower psychological distress:
Study Quote
Adults with ADHD showed lower levels of self-esteem and self-efficacy when compared with the control group. The authors found some, but not all, of the resources of adults with ADHD to be reduced. In other words, people with ADHD seem to possess specific resources.
Conclusions
Based on these results, researchers concluded that adults with ADHD have lower self-esteem and lower self-efficacy and those without ADHD:
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Our findings show that adults with ADHD exhibit significantly lower levels of self-esteem and self-efficacy than comparable healthy adults in a CG.
Those with ADHD also tended to have fewer resources and support compared to those without ADHD. They had more difficulties with their careers, partnerships, and their health. These difficulties can potentially compound the challenges faced by those with ADHD:
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As for the resources, we found the ADHD group to have significantly lower values compared with the CG in some but not all of the resources. In particular, the resources partnership, vocation, and health exhibited lower levels. These findings are in line with present studies, which commonly found individuals with ADHD to have interpersonal...and vocational difficulties
This research is consistent with other studies that have found strong links between self-esteem and ADHD. For example, one study found that self-esteem may play a vital role in the test anxiety that many with ADHD experience in school:
The authors believe that access to support from family and community may be able to help improve self-esteem and self-efficacy. Having this support can potentially improve the lives of those with ADHD:
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Our findings suggest that the resources, family, ability to love, courage, and faith, have a positive relationship with self-esteem. In addition, family and courage show a positive relationship with self-efficacy.
Study Quote
Our results have important implications for the treatment of adult ADHD and suggest that specific therapy programs should include resources-oriented modules for enhancing self-esteem, self-efficacy, and fostering strengths.