Mental Health | In adults with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), social support may protect against symptoms of depression and anxiety, according to study findings published in the Journal of Attention Disorders.
“The positive outcomes from therapy could in part be the result of positive social interactions that the client experiences in treatment. Strategies to bolster positive social interactions may include providing family psychoeducation and interpersonal skill training,” wrote corresponding author Ross D. Connolly, PhD, of the Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada, and coauthors. “Additionally, clinicians could enhance positive interactions by being actively encouraging and supportive when engaging with clients to reinforce positive social interchange.”
The study investigated whether the relationships between social support and anxiety and depression varied in adults with and without ADHD using data for 16,354 adults from the Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health.
Problematic anxiety and depression were each positively associated with self-reported ADHD in the study population, findings showed. Specifically, adults with ADHD had a 4.7 increase in the odds of general anxiety disorder, and 3.29 greater odds of a major depressive episode, the previous year compared with adults who did not report having ADHD.
However, the study found no significant differences between adults with and without ADHD in terms of the ability of social support to reduce the risk of generalized anxiety disorder or major depressive episodes.
“Although it is not possible to ‘cure’ ADHD, it is possible to alleviate its symptoms and to perhaps prevent the development of comorbidities such as anxiety and depression…” researchers wrote. “This point is subtle but important – the salutary role that social support has with both generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive episode is not restricted to whether an individual has an ADHD diagnosis.
