Beaton, D.M. orcid.org/0000-0002-6401-5215, Sirois, F. orcid.org/0000-0002-0927-277X and Milne, E. orcid.org/0000-0003-0127-0718 (2022) The role of self‐compassion in the mental health of adults with ADHD. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 78 (12). pp. 2497-2512. ISSN 0021-9762
Abstract
Objective
Evidence suggests that the poorer mental health associated with attention deficit hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is partially explained by adverse psychosocial correlates of the condition. As recent studies show that self-compassion is negatively associated with ADHD, this study investigates if levels of self-compassion may explain the mental health outcomes in people with ADHD compared to people without ADHD.
Method
A total of 543 adults with ADHD (62.72% female, 18–67 years), and 313 adults without ADHD (66.45% female, 18–82 years) completed questionnaires online to measure levels of self-compassion and mental health. A Structural Equation Model assessed the mediating effect of self-compassion on the relationships between ADHD and well-being (psychological, emotional, and social), and ADHD and ill-being (depression, anxiety, and stress).
Results
Findings suggest that low self-compassion contributes to poorer mental health in adults with ADHD compared to adults without ADHD.
Conclusions
Thus, self-compassion may be a potential target to improve mental health in this population.
Public Health Significance
This study shows that self-compassion is an important factor in the mental health of adults with ADHD and provides preliminary evidence for the use of self-compassion interventions to improve mental health outcomes in adults with ADHD.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Psychology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | ADHD; mental health; self-compassion; structural equation modelling; well-being |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 12 Apr 2022 12:38 |
Last Modified: | 18 Nov 2022 16:45 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/jclp.23354 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:185649 |