The self-esteem of adults diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a systematic review of the literature

Abstract

Individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often grow up with negative messages surrounding their abilities and may experience adverse outcomes throughout their lives. Despite this, by adulthood, those with ADHD often find that they are left without adequate support from services. This review explores the relationship between self-esteem and ADHD in adulthood with a view to outlining needs and potential opportunities in terms of service provision. Twelve databases were searched for relevant literature published between 1980 and 2013 using terms relating to self-esteem, ADHD and adulthood. The resulting 13 articles comprised both cross-sectional and intervention studies. Despite a limited number of studies and methodological concerns, there is evidence to suggest that ADHD is associated with lower self-esteem in adulthood and that self-esteem difficulties can be remedied, to at least some extent, by psychotherapeutic work. It is recommended that future research focuses on the evaluation of therapy that specifically targets difficulties in self-esteem in this population.

Empirical examination of executive functioning, ADHD associated behaviors, and functional impairments in adults with persistent ADHD, remittent ADHD, and without ADHD

“…There is evidence that ADHD is associated with lower self-esteem in adulthood [19,20], but our data indicate that a more negative self-image is largely associated with the persistence of the disorder. The ADHD-R group did not report having more significant self-concept problems than the N-ADHD group, which could suggest that remission protects the individual from these types of difficulties.…”

“…On the other hand, without a doubt, adults with ADHD commonly have additional problems, such as feelings of restlessness, unfocused mental activity and memory problems, emotional dysregulation, or low selfesteem [19][20][21][22]. These problems could be linked to the persistence of the disorder, adversities in everyday functioning [23,24], and poor quality of life [25].…”

The Direct/Indirect Association of ADHD/ODD Symptoms with Self-esteem, Self-perception, and Depression in Early Adolescents

“…As illustrated in Figure 1, we expected that ADHD and ODD symptoms affect self-esteem and self-perception, which have been shown in previous studies about children and adults with ADHD (7, 11). Self-esteem and self-perception would have influences on depressive symptoms in adolescents (20, 21).…”

“…(11)]. Additionally, studies exploring gender differences in self-esteem found a decrease in this population regardless of gender (12–14).…”

Hyperfocusing as a dimension of adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

“…Procrastination was also associated with inattention, perfectionism, fear of failure, depression and low self-esteem (Niermann & Scheres 2014;Pychyl, Coplan, & Reid, 2002;Solomon & Rothblum, 1984). So, procrastination is often part of the psychotherapies for adults with ADHD who usually present low self-esteem and develop depression (Cook, Knight, Hume, & Qureshi, 2014;Daviss, 2008;Harpin, Mazzone, Raynaud, Kahle, & Hodgkins, 2013). In a study, patients with ADHD received cognitive behavioral therapy which included strategies for the management of procrastination (Safren, Sprich, Chulvick, & Otto, 2004).…”