Study Maps Small Pathways Linking ADHD to Anxiety and Depression in Teens

Overview

• University of Edinburgh researchers analyzed surveys from more than 5,000 UK adolescents followed at ages 11, 14 and 17 in the Millennium Cohort Study.
• The team tested 14 potential mediators spanning family and peer relationships, behavior, school conduct, general health and parental mental health.
• Low self-esteem and poorer parental mental health showed small but statistically significant links connecting ADHD symptoms with later anxiety and low mood.
• For girls, difficulties with peers also emerged as a small yet significant pathway associated with subsequent internalising problems.
• Published in the Journal of Attention Disorders, the study’s authors and outside experts say the evidence can guide tailored support, including building adolescents’ self-esteem, addressing parents’ mental health and offering social-skills help for girls.