TY - JOUR
T1 - Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder traits are a more important predictor of internalising problems than autistic traits
AU - Hargitai, Luca
AU - Livingston, Lucy
AU - Waldren, Lucy
AU - Robinson, Ross
AU - Jarrold, Christopher
AU - Shah, Punit
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a GW4 award, ‘Neurodevelopmental Neurodiversity Network’. L.A.L is supported by the Waterloo Foundation. L.D.H and L.H.W. are supported by the Economic and Social Research Council.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).
PY - 2023/1/16
Y1 - 2023/1/16
N2 - Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are both linked to internalising problems like anxiety and depression. ASD and ADHD also often co-occur, making their individual statistical contributions to internalising disorders difficult to investigate. To address this issue, we explored the unique associations of self-reported ASD traits and ADHD traits with internalising problems using a large general population sample of adults from the United Kingdom (N = 504, 49% male). Classical regression analyses indicated that both ASD traits and ADHD traits were uniquely associated with internalising problems. Dominance and Bayesian analyses confirmed that ADHD traits were a stronger, more important predictor of internalising problems. However, brief depression and anxiety measures may not provide a comprehensive index of internalising problems. Additionally, we focused on recruiting a sample that was representative of the UK population according to age and sex, but not ethnicity, a variable that may be linked to internalising disorders. Nevertheless, our findings indicate that while ASD and ADHD uniquely predict internalising problems, ADHD traits are a more important statistical predictor than ASD traits. We discuss potential mechanisms underlying this pattern of results and the implications for research and clinical practice concerning neurodevelopmental conditions.
AB - Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are both linked to internalising problems like anxiety and depression. ASD and ADHD also often co-occur, making their individual statistical contributions to internalising disorders difficult to investigate. To address this issue, we explored the unique associations of self-reported ASD traits and ADHD traits with internalising problems using a large general population sample of adults from the United Kingdom (N = 504, 49% male). Classical regression analyses indicated that both ASD traits and ADHD traits were uniquely associated with internalising problems. Dominance and Bayesian analyses confirmed that ADHD traits were a stronger, more important predictor of internalising problems. However, brief depression and anxiety measures may not provide a comprehensive index of internalising problems. Additionally, we focused on recruiting a sample that was representative of the UK population according to age and sex, but not ethnicity, a variable that may be linked to internalising disorders. Nevertheless, our findings indicate that while ASD and ADHD uniquely predict internalising problems, ADHD traits are a more important statistical predictor than ASD traits. We discuss potential mechanisms underlying this pattern of results and the implications for research and clinical practice concerning neurodevelopmental conditions.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85146317577&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-022-26350-4
DO - 10.1038/s41598-022-26350-4
M3 - Article
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 13
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
IS - 1
M1 - 31
ER -