Top problems of adolescents and young adults with ADHD during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Objective: ADHD symptom severity appears to be exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study surveyed top problems experienced by adolescents and young adults (A/YAs) with ADHD during the COVID-19 pandemic to identify possible reasons for symptom escalation and potential targets for intervention. We also explored perceived benefits of the pandemic for A/YAs with ADHD.

Method: At the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-June 2020), we administered self and parent ratings about current and pre-pandemic top problem severity and benefits of the pandemic to a sample of convenience (N = 134 A/YAs with ADHD participating in a prospective longitudinal study).

Results: The most common top problems reported in the sample were social isolation (parent-report: 26.7%; self-report: 41.5%), difficulties engaging in online learning (parent-report: 23.3%, self-report: 20.3%), motivation problems (parent-report: 27.9%), and boredom (self-report: 21.3%). According to parent (d = 0.98) and self-report (d = 1.33), these top problems were more severe during the pandemic than in prior months. Contrary to previous speculation, there was no evidence that pandemic-related changes mitigated ADHD severity. Multi-level models indicated that A/YAs with higher IQs experienced severer top problems exacerbations at the transition to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusions: For A/YAs with ADHD, several risk factors for depression and school dropout were incurred during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. A/YAs with ADHD should be monitored for school disengagement and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recommended interventions attend to reducing risk factors such as increasing social interaction, academic motivation, and behavioral activation among A/YAs with ADHD.

Keywords: ADHD; Adolescence; COVID-19.