Longitudinal link between ADHD and anxiety for children with low social preference : the mediating role of hostile attribution bias

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Sabine Reasbeck Huber (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Susan Keane

Abstract: Expression of ADHD symptoms may confer risk for increases in internalizing outcomes over time. One potential explanation is the presence of hostile attribution bias: this social processing deficit has been observed in populations with ADHD and has also been shown to predict increases in anxiety over time in community samples. Given that children with ADHD often experience poor relations with peers, and significant evidence links low social preference and later anxiety, low social preference may experience amplified risk for later anxiety. The current study used a sample of 362 participants to test 1) whether expression of symptoms associated with ADHD in childhood predicts increases in anxious symptoms in emerging adolescence, 2) whether this association is mediated by hostile attribution bias in childhood, and 3) whether social preference in childhood moderates this mediation. Results revealed a significant longitudinal association between ADHD symptoms and increases in anxious symptoms in emerging adolescence, but hostile attribution was not found to mediate this association. Additionally, low social preference was not found to exacerbate risk for later anxiety. Given that findings of the present study were nonsignificant, future research should consider other potential mechanisms of risk from ADHD to later anxious symptoms in order to inform interventions for children with ADHD who may be at risk for developing internalizing symptoms later in development.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 2021
Keywords
ADHD, Anxiety, Hostile Attribution Bias, Social Preference
Subjects
Attention-deficit-disordered children
Anxiety in adolescence
Hostility (Psychology)
Social skills in children
Internalization

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