ADHD is associated with other mental health issues. A new study suggests why – National | Globalnews.ca

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh think they have found a reason why teenagers with ADHD also struggle with anxiety and depression.

Published earlier this month in the journal Attention Disorders, the study is being hailed by the university as “the first to study multiple factors that correlate with ADHD symptoms and mental health symptoms over time.”

Research makes the case that teens with ADHD are more likely to have problems like anxiety and low mood, at least in part because ADHD increases their chances of poor self-esteem, as well as parents with poor mental health.

Aja Murray, who led the research and is professor of developmental psychology at the University of Edinburgh, said it was important to recognize that “internalizing problems such as anxiety and depression are elevated for young people with ADHD symptoms.”

“There are many things that may contribute to the relationship between ADHD symptoms and anxiety and depression,” she said. “It’s great to know what are the big things we need to focus on to have the most impact.”

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh tested more than 5,000 young people aged 11, 14 and 17 for potential factors linking ADHD and other aspects of mental health, such as behavioral issues, low self-esteem and whether a parent has mental health challenges.

They found a “small but statistically significant association” between those with low self-esteem and parents with mental health challenges, and those with ADHD and the risks of poor mental health. This was also true for girls who had problems with their friends.

“The results suggest that many different factors may work together to have a small effect on ADHD and other emotional issues during adolescence,” the researchers said.

“Research can help tailor targeted well-being support systems for youth with ADHD.”

Cara Katz, an assistant professor of child and adolescent psychiatry and psychiatry at the University of Manitoba, said she understands the connection.

“It’s a really important developmental period with identity formation,” she said.

“Children learn that they are perceived by the environment is really important and when children or people sometimes have ADHD, they get a lot of negative feedback from their environment… Then they take how their environment perceives them and internalize it.

The findings could help shed light on how to provide better support for teens with ADHD, experts say.

“I think that kids with ADHD symptoms are usually called that or they think they’re bad kids because they have a lot of problems at school at home. Their friends often don’t like them. They’re often told that you have to try harder, you don’t apply yourself, you have to listen.”

“So I feel like over time that can really take its toll.“

The study also says that ADHD symptoms “increased slightly” by age 17, something Jeremy Williams, executive director of ADHD Counseling Canada, said may be happening.

“Adolescence brings a dramatic increase in academic, social and emotional complexity that can exacerbate ADHD symptoms. Teens also navigate a highly stimulating digital environment full of constant notifications, social media and online engagement that compete for attention,” he told Global News in a written statement.

“For youth who already face significant challenges that environment can exacerbate symptoms. Increased awareness and willingness to report struggles may contribute to this trend.”

The study also suggests that the results are “consistent with the idea that whole family system interventions may be the best approach for families experiencing ADHD symptoms.”

“Child and adolescent mental health is all about the family system,” Katz said.

“Parents need to be involved, you need to understand how parents are the main contributors to the intervention, like in the home and structure and in the interface between school and home, parents are really important.”

Murray explained that there was a difference in results between the girls and boys surveyed, saying that “girls with high ADHD symptoms show more problems with their peers, which then leads to anxiety and depression in adolescence.”

The results were “quite exciting” to Murray, who said that “it suggests that when we’re trying to support boys and girls with ADHD, we need to support the gender gaps that are provided.”

“When we think about what kind of support girls with ADHD symptoms need and paying particular attention to how it affects their friendships and their ability to get along with their peers is very important. For boys, I feel like the gender-specific results are a little less clear,” she said.

“There seems to be some indication that it has a lot to do with risk-taking behavior. So maybe that’s an area where they need a little more support to prevent the development of anxiety and depression.”

McCamey believes that the survey suggests that “this mediation is driven more by what’s happening for the girls in the sample than for the boys.”

“There are a lot of gender attitudes and expectations in our society. And we know that in childhood, ADHD-type problems are more common in boys, but then in adolescence, internalizing-type problems are more common in girls,” she said.

“I think that maybe a girl with ADHD-type symptoms, inattentive, passive, can’t keep quiet, hides answers, interrupts and interferes. It may seem more than boys who do this.”

A December 2025 JAMA Network open study evaluated total prescription rates for ADHD for adults in Ontario, finding that “by 2023, data indicate that annual new stimulant prescriptions were 157% higher than in 2015.”

The report also states that “ADHD treatment prescriptions increased throughout the study period and accelerated in 2020, coinciding with the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prescriptions began to grow 28 percent year over year that year, compared to just seven percent from 2015 to 2019.”