ADHD and Depression: An Overview
The paper discusses the link between ADHD and depression. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that has its onset in childhood. Children who have ADHD have difficulty paying attention and controlling their impulsive behaviours. Children and adults have ADHD equally. They have difficulty in staying organised, and they are impulsive. The paper will also discuss depression. Depression includes a marked reduction in interest in almost all activities the client was interested in or sought pleasure in, in the past. The disturbance faxed by the client will not be able to be explained in better terms by any diagnostic criteria. The paper will include past literature which discusses ADHD and Depression and their link. The paper analyses the links and the effect of two mental health disorders. There is a direct linkage between negative body image and depressive symptoms. Body image can affect the association that acts between ADHD and depressive symptoms. According to past research, it can be stated that ADHD is strongly associated with the increasing symptoms of depression and faulty evaluation of their physical appearances and preoccupation with getting overweight. Body image, according to past research, develops a strong relation between ADHD and depression (Van Eck, Morse & Flory, 2018). Thus, with the help of past research, it can be stated with evidence that there is a direct link between ADHD and Depression. DSM-V states diagnostic criteria to diagnose people with ADHD and Depression. Since the paper discusses the link between ADHD and Depression, the paper will not discuss the DSM V criteria diagnosing ADHD and depression.
Attention deficit is a disorder present in both adults and children. However, it is more commonly a childhood disorder. ADHD often persist into adulthood and can establish the onset of other disorders like depression. It can establish negative outcomes like that of educational underachievements. ADHD can also lead to difficulties in maintaining interpersonal relationships, employment relationships and criminality. According to the paper, early interventions can reduce the effects of ADHD, but underdiagnosis poses a major difficulty for patients with a mental health disorder. The paper gave an elaborate discussion over the problems of ADHD like the huge cost of treatment or the treatment procedure like Evidence-based Care pathways, (Sayal et al., 2018).
According to Katzman et al, (2017), ADHD adds to the societal and personal burden. 80% of adults have ADHD with at least one coexisting psychiatric disorder like, for example, depression and anxiety disorders. Such a state complicates the diagnosis of ADHD in adults, and thus, ADHD often remains under-recognised or under-treated among adults. The theoretical underpinnings of the study discuss the concepts of the disorder and its treatment procedure like usage of Pharmacologic treatments and Non-pharmacological treatments. The research concluded that ADHD often goes unrecognised, underdiagnosed, and under-treated is supported due to the comorbidity present in disorder among adults. The research conclusion is supported by Sayal et al., (2018).
The theoretical underpinning of the research paper conducted by Franke et al., (2018) had described that ADHD is heritable. It is a common neurodevelopmental disorder detected in children. The symptoms and the comorbidities of the disorder fluctuate over time. Thus, a study with a lifespan perspective is needed on ADHD, which forms a major gap in the present literature and justifies future research covering this gap. The literature focuses on the clinical symptom. It also focuses on the cognitive trajectories and treatment process. The literature also focuses on the unresolved biological factors of ADHD trajectories not covered by the initial two research papers.
Negative Body Image and Depressive Symptoms
The paper by Danielson et al., (2018) is aimed to analyse the national prevalence of parent-reported attention to ADHD treatment and diagnosis of U.S. children who belong to the age bracket of 2–17 years by using the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). The survey could be responded to online or by mailing responded questionnaire. It was concluded that in 2016, 6.1 million U.S. children had received diagnoses based on a parent report. The study is based in the US, and thus, it will be intriguing to analyse more generalised data. Such revelation was unique of its kind.
According to Laugesen et al. (2017)., which was discussed earlier, the symptoms of deviations in early childhood may be later diagnosed as ADHD. It impairs emotional functioning and often leads to depression in children and adolescents. Data was collected through participant observations and interviews. The paper concluded that to treat children with ADHD and the subsequent risk of having depression, one needs to have a trusting relationship with mental health professionals. The paper, however, included only a short number of participants and thus, future research can be justified if conducted using a larger population. Future research can also justify the relevance if they consider the therapists’ perspective.
Supporting the findings of Laugesen et al. (2017)., Sjöwall & Thorell, (2019) discussed that ADHD symptoms are accompanied by emotional dysregulation and effective medication can help treat the dysregulation. Covering non-clinical 121 young adults of 26 years, the paper concluded that ADHD hampers the quality of life. The paper investigated the psychological quality of life, including items related to emotionality, like being anxious and depressed. ADHD can make fluctuations in emotions like overreacting in tough situations. It was also concluded that delay-related behaviours in children are associated with ADHD symptoms, anxiety and depression. The limitation of the paper is that it included non-clinical clients and self-ratings for chosen variables.
Holton & Nigg, (2020), through the paper, aimed at analysing a different aspect of ADHD, which was not discussed by Laugesen et al. (2017) or Laugesen et al. (2017). The paper aims to compare healthy lifestyle behaviours of children with ADHD and non-ADHD. Parents of both groups answered a lifestyle questionnaire. The index had seven domains to examine the topic. The research concluded that children with ADHD showed fewer healthy behaviours than non-ADHD children. This can be due to their emotional dysregulation. Comorbidity effects are tough to be evaluated such as depression or oppositional defiant disorder which were not evaluated thoroughly.
Children who have suffered from immigration have suffered from depression. The well-being of the children has suffered. Fears have been manifested in children, as reported by parents and pediatricians. Depression has brought about behavioural changes like problems in sleeping, eating and anxiety. Depression affects the behaviour and performance of children. The finding concluded that immigrant families of diverse backgrounds are feeling fear and uncertainty, and thus these feelings go to the extent of causing depression in children. Fear has a long-term effect on the children to cause depression and poorer health outcomes among them over the lifespan. They suffer from compromised development. They also suffer from social and environmental challenges across, (Artiga & Ubri, 2017).
Diagnosing and Treating ADHD: Challenges and Interventions
El Asam, Samara & Terry, (2019) aimed to analyse if excessive internet use results in depression among British children and adolescents. They have adapted the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire to analyse the association between internet use and depression. A large sample comprised of children and adolescents from UK schools who answered the questionnaires. Depression and anxiety were majorly analysed. The analysis reflected that excessive internet use impacts daily life, leading to depression and poorer physical health. Males score higher on questionnaires than females. The results also suggest the need for the development of intervention strategies. Excessive internet use indicates obsession and loneliness, an aspect not covered by, (Artiga & Ubri, 2017).
Cho & Lee, (2017), similar to El Asam, Samara & Terry, (2019), analysed the effects of smartphone addiction among young children on emotional intelligence and problematic behaviours. Smartphone addiction affects daily life like voluntary isolation. Parents have claimed the presence of negative effects of overuse of smartphone by children. The study had researched the addictive effects of smartphones on the age group of minors. The research concluded that the smartphone addiction of Korean middle and high school students influences depression, anxiety, aggression, and social problems. The paper could not analyse data of the national level and thus, the results are confined to the state level.
Unlike the other research, Wigham et al., (2017) stated that depression is also a cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Depression is a coexisting condition with ASD. Depression, according to the paper, stated social communication difficulties of people leads to depression. As a result of experiences of bullying and societal pressures to conform to norms, ASD clients face depression. The theoretical underpinnings explain many measures of depression. Psychometric tests were used. It can be concluded that the rates of depression in children and adults with ASD are high.
The current paper discusses the topic of the paper at length and an aspect that other researchers do not elaborately cover cited earlier. ADHD and depression are linked. Children might have ADHD alone, and ADHD can be present in the comorbid state and ADHD and depression. This comorbidity state requires a more intense intervention. These children experience higher psychosocial problems and levels of stress. They face higher levels of problems with their families as well. Common comorbidity in children with ADHD is Unipolar depression. Through theoretical underpinnings, the paper discusses the theoretical concepts of the neurological explanation behind frustration in children, (Seymour & Miller, 2017).
Anxiety is one of the common mental health disorders that affect people in society. The paper aimed to analyse the relation between ADHD symptoms, anxiety and depression, which often leads to suicidal ideations in the chronic state, (Shen et al., 2020). For the research analysis, the paper had undertaken a sample population of students from medical colleges in China. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a good sample size enrolled as a sample through convenience sampling. The results concluded that students with anxiety had a poorer relationship with parents and showed dependence on addiction. The paper concluded that it is important to address both ADHD and anxiety to promote the mental health wellbeing of the students and reduce suicidal ideations among them. This aspect has not been covered by Seymour & Miller, (2017).
Comorbidities of ADHD: Depression and Beyond
Powell et al., (2020), in their paper, aimed at analysing the role of peer elation in the development of depression among ADHD children. There is increasing evidence that ADHD might lead to future chances of suffering from depression. The paper aimed at analysing the unclear link between the two disorders like Shen et al., (2020). The paper analysed the link by investigating the relation between childhood ADHD and late-adolescent depressive symptoms. The paper examined the effect of academic attainment and peer problems on the link between ADHD and depression. Self-reported depressive symptoms were also analyzed. It was concluded that the link was affected by academic attainment and peer relationships, and thus, they can be used as effective tools to prevent depression among children.
Roy, Oldehinkel & Hartman, (2017), unlike Powell et al., (2020), had attempted to analyse the cognitive functioning differences that are present between self-reported ADHD and onset of depression and non-ADHD and non-depression. Neuropsychological functioning was analysed using a sample size of 1549 adolescents. The results concluded that compared to the healthy and depressed-only groups, adolescents who suffered from only ADHD had shown a longer response time. Adolescents with both ADHD and depression showed slower working memory maintenance. Thus the paper concluded that adolescents with ADHD with the presence or absence of comorbid depression show poorer cognitive functioning compared to only depressive clients.
Like Powell et al., (2020), who focused on peer relationships and unlike Roy, Oldehinkel & Hartman, (2017), who stressed the research on cognitive functioning, Simmons & Antshel, (2021), had discussed the role of bullying on depression among ADHD children and youth. The theoretical underpinning explained that youth with ADHD are at higher risk of being bullied by peers. By using an electronic database, the research had analysed the effect of bullying and depressive symptoms. Thirteen studies were analysed through strict inclusion criteria. The result supports the conclusion reached by Powell. Peers play an important role in the well being of adolescents and children. Depression in ADHD clients is evident when they are being bullied.
The paper had analysed a different aspect of the relation between ADHD and depression among children. Wymbs et al., (2017) are supportive of the fact that parents with ADHD and ADD often elevated ADHD and depressive symptoms among children. Parents through self-report stated that their mental health affected their relation and quality of parenting. A promising sample size of parents who have lived together for two years and provided parenting to their children was selected using newspaper and radio advertisements. It was concluded that parenting a child with ADHD and depression was all the more difficult for parents diagnosed with the disorders, an aspect not much analysed through research.
Similar to Wymbs et al., (2017), Agha et al., (2017) had also analysed maternal psychopathology on the clinical outcomes of their offspring. According to Agha et al, earlier researchers had analysed not the link between the different types of parent psychopathology and ADHD in the child. Thus, the paper aimed to investigate if self-reported ADHD and depression in mothers influenced ADHD and conduct disorder symptoms. A sample size of 143 males with ADHD responded to this study. This study is the first to predict the relation between depression in mothers and conduct disorder symptoms and not depression in adolescents with ADHD.
Future Research Directions
Both the papers by Nazar et al., (2018), Blume, Schmidt & Hilbert, (2019) had proposed the relation between the eating disorder (ED) and depression among ADHD children. According to the papers, ADHD children have a high risk of developing obesity. Using a considerable sample size, the research was conducted to analyse the relationship and it was concluded that ED worsened the cognitive functioning of ADHD individuals.
The literature gap identified through the literature review, which justifies the future research, is the gap of analysing how to ensure early intervention for ADHD and analysing the relation between ED and depression among ADHD children and youth.
Conclusion
Thus, from the above discussion, it can be concluded that there exists a relation between depression and ADHD among children, youth and even adults. The paper has discussed the link covering the age group of children youth and adjusted with more emphasis on the youth and children. The significant flaws that are present in the researches cited include the fact that the majority of the paper has focused their search on specific countries and not generalised the concept. More research in the future can help to have a clear understanding of the concept of what can help in early intervention. Future research can help understand the role teachers can take to ensure avoiding the negative impact of peers on the ADHD students as only inclusive policies might fail to serve the purpose if society fails to empathise with the children struggling with mental health challenges.
References
Agha, S. S., Zammit, S., Thapar, A., & Langley, K. (2017). Maternal psychopathology and offspring clinical outcome: a four-year follow-up of boys with ADHD. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 26(2), 253-262.
Artiga, S., & Ubri, P. (2017). Living in an immigrant family in America: How fear and toxic stress are affecting daily life, well-being, & health. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation.
Blume, M., Schmidt, R., & Hilbert, A. (2019). Abnormalities in the EEG power spectrum in bulimia nervosa, binge?eating disorder, and obesity: A systematic review. European Eating Disorders Review, 27(2), 124-136.
Cho, K. S., & Lee, J. M. (2017). Influence of smartphone addiction proneness of young children on problematic behaviors and emotional intelligence: Mediating self-assessment effects of parents using smartphones. Computers in Human Behavior, 66, 303-311.
Danielson, M. L., Bitsko, R. H., Ghandour, R. M., Holbrook, J. R., Kogan, M. D., & Blumberg, S. J. (2018). Prevalence of parent-reported ADHD diagnosis and associated treatment among US children and adolescents, 2016. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 47(2), 199-212.
El Asam, A., Samara, M., & Terry, P. (2019). Problematic internet use and mental health among British children and adolescents. Addictive behaviors, 90, 428-436.
Franke, B., Michelini, G., Asherson, P., Banaschewski, T., Bilbow, A., Buitelaar, J. K., … & Reif, A. (2018). Live fast, die young? A review on the developmental trajectories of ADHD across the lifespan. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 28(10), 1059-1088.
Holton, K. F., & Nigg, J. T. (2020). The association of lifestyle factors and ADHD in children. Journal of attention disorders, 24(11), 1511-1520.
Katzman, M. A., Bilkey, T. S., Chokka, P. R., Fallu, A., & Klassen, L. J. (2017). Adult ADHD and comorbid disorders: clinical implications of a dimensional approach. BMC psychiatry, 17(1), 1-15.
Laugesen, B., Lauritsen, M. B., Jørgensen, R., Sørensen, E. E., Grønkjær, M., & Rasmussen, P. (2017). ADHD and everyday life: healthcare as a significant lifeline. Journal of pediatric nursing, 35, 105-112.
Nazar, B. P., Trindade, A. P., Leslie, M., Malloy-Diniz, L. F., Sergeant, J., Treasure, J., & Mattos, P. (2018). Eating disorders impact on vigilance and decision making of a community sample of treatment naive attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder young adults. Frontiers in psychiatry, 531.
Powell, V., Riglin, L., Hammerton, G., Eyre, O., Martin, J., Anney, R., … & Rice, F. (2020). What explains the link between childhood ADHD and adolescent depression? Investigating the role of peer relationships and academic attainment. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 29(11), 1581-1591.
Roy, A., Oldehinkel, A. J., & Hartman, C. A. (2017). Cognitive functioning in adolescents with self-reported ADHD and depression: Results from a population-based study. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 45(1), 69-81.
Sayal, K., Prasad, V., Daley, D., Ford, T., & Coghill, D. (2018). ADHD in children and young people: prevalence, care pathways, and service provision. The Lancet Psychiatry, 5(2), 175-186.
Seymour, K. E., & Miller, L. (2017). ADHD and depression: the role of poor frustration tolerance. Current developmental disorders reports, 4(1), 14-18.
Shen, Y., Zhang, Y., Chan, B. S. M., Meng, F., Yang, T., Luo, X., & Huang, C. (2020). Association of ADHD symptoms, depression and suicidal behaviors with anxiety in Chinese medical college students. BMC psychiatry, 20(1), 1-9.
Simmons, J. A., & Antshel, K. M. (2021, June). Bullying and depression in youth with ADHD: a systematic review. In Child & Youth Care Forum (Vol. 50, No. 3, pp. 379-414). Springer US.
Sjöwall, D., & Thorell, L. B. (2019). Neuropsychological deficits in relation to ADHD symptoms, quality of life, and daily life functioning in young adulthood. Applied Neuropsychology: Adult, 1-9.
Van Eck, K., Morse, M., & Flory, K. (2018). The role of body image in the link between ADHD and depression symptoms among college students. Journal of attention disorders, 22(5), 435-445.
Wigham, S., Barton, S., Parr, J. R., & Rodgers, J. (2017). A systematic review of the rates of depression in children and adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 10(4), 267-287.
Wymbs, B. T., Dawson, A. E., Egan, T. E., Sacchetti, G. M., Tams, S. T., & Wymbs, F. A. (2017). ADHD and depression symptoms in parent couples predict response to child ADHD and ODD behavior. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 45(3), 471-484.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
