Executive functions mediate the association between ADHD symptoms and anxiety in a clinical adolescent population
Objective Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with a high prevalence of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. The reasons for this association are poorly understood. Preliminary findings with young adults have suggested that executive functions and functional impai...
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Published in | Frontiers in psychiatry Vol. 13; p. 834356 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Frontiers Media S.A
12.09.2022
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Objective
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with a high prevalence of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. The reasons for this association are poorly understood. Preliminary findings with young adults have suggested that executive functions and functional impairment may mediate the relationship between symptoms of ADHD and mixed anxiety and depressive symptoms. The objective of this study was to explore whether ADHD symptoms, executive functions and functional impairment predict anxiety in a clinical adolescent population. In addition, we investigated the possible mediating role of executive functions and functional impairment in this relationship.
Method
One hundred adolescents with ADHD and their parents completed the ADHD Rating Scale IV (ADHD RS-IV), the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), and the Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale (WFIRS) in relation to an RCT study. The adolescents also completed the Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED). Analyses were conducted using regression and a serial multiple mediator model.
Results
In the regression analyses, parent-rated ADHD symptoms were unable to predict anxiety, but ADHD inattention symptoms predicted anxiety in the self-ratings. Executive dysfunction and functional impairment predicted anxiety in both the parent- and self-reports. In the mediation analyses ADHD symptoms alone did not predict anxiety, but executive dysfunction mediated this relationship as expected. Functional impairment mediated this relationship indirectly through executive functions. The results were similar in the parent- and self- reports.
Conclusion
The results pinpoint executive dysfunction as an important treatment target for alleviating anxiety in adolescents with impairing ADHD symptoms. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Edited by: Kerstin Jessica von Plessen, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), Switzerland Reviewed by: Javier Fenollar Cortés, Loyola University Andalusia, Spain; Yulia Solovieva, Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla, Mexico This article was submitted to ADHD, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry |
ISSN: | 1664-0640 1664-0640 |
DOI: | 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.834356 |