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BackgroundMisconceptions about ADHD stigmatize affected people, reduce credibility of providers, and prevent/delay treatment. To challenge misconceptions, we curated findings with strong evidence base.MethodsWe reviewed studies with more than 2000 participants or meta-analyses from five or more studies or 2000 or more participants. We excluded meta-analyses that did not assess publication bias, except for meta-analyses of prevalence. For network meta-analyses we required comparison adjusted funnel plots. We excluded treatment studies with waiting-list or treatment as usual controls. From this literature, we extracted evidence-based assertions about the disorder.ResultsWe generated 208 empirically supported statements about ADHD. The status of the included statements as empirically supported is approved by 80 authors from 27 countries and 6 continents. The contents of the manuscript are endorsed by 366 people who have read this document and agree with its contents.ConclusionsMany findings in ADHD are supported by meta-analysis. These allow for firm statements about the nature, course, outcome causes, and treatments for disorders that are useful for reducing misconceptions and stigma.

Objective: To explore risk behaviors in adults with ADHD, testing the possible mediating role of reward sensitivity and temporal discounting. Method: 66 adults (43 men, 23 women; 18-65 years) completed clinical interviews and self-report measures of ADHD symptoms, risk-taking behaviours/risky experiences and experimental measures of temporal discounting and reward sensitivity. Results: ADHD symptom severity in adults was significantly associated with self-reported life-time histories of risk-taking behaviours, including alcohol abuse, nicotine abuse, illicit drug abuse, and perpetration of violence; as well as experience of risky sexual situations and violence victimisation (all p values Keywords: ADHD; risk-taking; violence; motivation; reward, temporal discounting, Introduction Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder that often persists into adulthood (Biederman et al, 2006), and is associated with a range of neurobehavioural difficulties including response inhibition and [...]

Sixty youth (16-19 years) from two youth prison sites participate in a prospective study examining criminal offending and learning disabilities (LD), completing measures of estimated IQ, attention, reading, and mathematical and oral language abilities. Prevalence rates of LDs exceed those of international studies, with 91.67% of the offenders showing significant difficulties in at least one area of achievement (defined as 1 SD or more below the normative mean), the mean reading comprehension score falling at the 4th percentile. Four years post assessment, recidivism rates among released youth (n = 51) are investigated. After the investigators control for other known risk factors (including delinquency and estimated IQ), reading comprehension predicts future offending across measures, capturing rate, seriousness, and persistence of offending post release.

Psychiatrists and other mental health professionals are often asked about the role that diet and nutrition play in ADHD etiology and symptom management. This article examines the contributory role of [...]

Objective: To investigate the effect of a 36-ingredient micronutrient formula consisting mainly of minerals and vitamins in the treatment of adults with both ADHD and severe mood dysregulation (SMD). Method: 14 medication-free adults (9 men, 5 women; 18-55 years) with ADHD and SMD completed an 8-week open-label trial. Results: A minority reported transitory mild side effects. Significant improvements were noted across informants (self, observer, clinician) on measures of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity, mood, quality of life, anxiety, and stress all with medium to very large effect sizes (all ps less than 0.01); however, the mean of inattention remained in a clinical range whereas the means on measures of mood and hyperactivity/impulsivity were normalized. Follow-up data showed maintenance of changes or further improvement for those who stayed on the micronutrients. Conclusions: Although this study, as an open trial, does not in itself prove efficacy, it provides preliminary evidence supporting the need for a randomized clinical trial of micronutrients as treatment for the more complex presentations of ADHD. (Contains 1 note, 2 tables, and 2 figures.)

In obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), inflated responsibility (IR) beliefs and thought-action fusion (TAF) are two cognitive schema argued to contribute to obsessions and compulsions. We investigated whether IR and TAF are OCD-specific or whether they occur in other anxiety disorders. Adults diagnosed with OCD (n = 20) or other anxiety disorders (n = 21), and non-clinical controls (n = 22) completed measures of OCD symptomatology and severity, TAF, appraisals and interpretations of responsibility, and depression. IR was more prominent in those with OCD as compared with those with other anxiety disorders, with correlational analyses confirming that a high sense of personal responsibility was associated with high levels of obsessionality even after controlling for depression. No group differences, however, emerged between the clinical groups on measures of TAF, both groups showing elevated TAF compared with controls. Indeed, TAF and obsessional symptoms were correlated only in the presence of negative affect. These results suggest that although IR may be higher in those with OCD compared with other anxiety disorders, TAF is not specific to OCD. Results are discussed in the context of cognitive appraisal models of OCD. (Contains 2 tables.)

Selective attention has durable consequences for behavior and neural activation. Negative priming (NP) effects are assumed to reflect a critical inhibitory component of selective attention. The performance of adolescents with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was assessed across two conceptually based NP tasks within a selective attention procedure. Comorbidity (non-comorbid ADHD vs. comorbid ADHD) and subtype (ADHD combined vs. ADHD inattentive) were considered key issues. Results found NP effects to differ as a function of comorbidity but not subtype. Findings are discussed in light of functional neuroimaging evidence for neuronal enhancement for unattended stimuli relative to attended stimuli that strongly complements an inhibitory-based explanation for NP. Implications for the "AD" in ADHD and contemporary process models of the disorder are considered. (Contains 2 figures and 4 tables.)

Objective: This study investigates attributional styles and psychosocial functioning of men and women with ADHD identified in adulthood to inform practice issues. Method: One hundred and eighty adults participate: 52 females with ADHD, 37 males with ADHD, 51 female controls, and 40 male controls are administered questionnaires broadly assessing attributional style and psychosocial functioning. Results: The ADHD groups report more depression and anxiety, greater childhood dissatisfaction, a more external locus of control and lower self-esteem, and being more likely to be classified with a maladaptive attributional style than controls. No specific gender differences are noted in the ADHD groups, although a few overall gender differences emerge, with males reporting lower self-esteem, a more external locus of control, and more dissatisfaction in childhood than females. Conclusion: Consistent with other research, ADHD participants, regardless of gender, are struggling significantly with psychosocial functioning. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)

Several hypotheses related to Newman's (e.g., Patterson & Newman, 1993) response modulation hypothesis were examined among adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; n = 18) and normal controls (n = 23). Consistent with predictions, youth with ADHD committed more passive avoidance errors (PAEs) than controls during the latter trials of a computerized go/no go task with mixed incentives, and this effect remained significant or marginally significant even after common variance associated with variables that covary with ADHD (i.e., IQ, oppositional-defiant/conduct disorder [ODD/CD] symptoms, anxious/depressed mood) was removed. While a moderate inverse association was observed between PAE frequency and the amount of time spent viewing response feedback following punishment, both categorical (diagnostic) and dimensional analyses of ADHD symptomatology indicated that ADHD and reflection on punishment feedback are uniquely associated with PAE commission. Findings from this study are discussed in relation to models of disinhibition applicable to youth with ADHD.

Only recently have studies included a female Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) sample when investigating neurocognitive functioning of individuals with ADHD. As such, the generalisability of findings of impaired executive functioning is limited to ADHD males. This study compared four groups aged 13-17 years: 30 male controls, 35 female controls, 24 males with ADHD, and 25 females with ADHD. Participants were assessed using the K-SADS-PL and Conners' Rating Scales, and completed tests of rapid naming, processing speed, memory, inhibition, set-shifting, and interference. Results showed that the males with ADHD and the females with ADHD performed similarly with only one notable difference: males with ADHD showed some evidence of more impaired inhibition than females with ADHD. In contrast, after controlling for reading ability, comorbidity, and IQ, both males and females with ADHD showed some impairment in working memory, naming speeds, processing abilities, and inhibitory deficits as compared with controls. This study supports the growing literature documenting impaired neurocognitive functioning in both males and females with ADHD.