Neuropsychological deficits in relation to ADHD symptoms, quality of life, and daily life functioning in young adulthood

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is related to multiple neuropsychological deficits. However, most previous studies, especially studies of adult samples, have not taken the overlap between different neuropsychological deficits into account. In addition, the link between neuropsychological deficits and daily life functioning and quality of life needs to be further investigated. The aim was therefore to investigate the independent effects of executive deficits, delay-related behaviors and emotion dysregulation on ADHD symptom levels, daily life functioning, and quality of life in a non-clinical sample of younger adults. Results showed independent effects of all three neuropsychological deficits on the two ADHD symptom domains. With regard to daily life functioning and quality of life, bivariate relations were found to all three neuropsychological deficits. However, it was primarily the associations to executive deficits that remained significant when studying independent effects. Executive deficits were related to daily life functioning and quality of life also when controlling for ADHD symptom levels. Conclusively, this study shows that ADHD is related to multiple neuropsychological deficits, even in adulthood. Previous studies may have overestimated the importance of delay-related behaviors and emotion dysregulation for daily life functioning, as they have failed to control for the effects of executive deficits.

Keywords: ADHD symtoms; delay aversion; emotion regulation; executive deficits; quality of life.