Anxiety and depression among college students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Cross-informant, sex, and subtype differences.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined symptoms of anxiety and depression among college students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

PARTICIPANTS: Data were collected between March 2011 and March 2016 from 150 college students with ADHD and 150 college students without ADHD.

METHOD: Participants with ADHD were compared to a sex- and ethnicity-matched control group. For the ADHD group, parent and self-report of anxiety and depression were also compared.

RESULTS: College students with ADHD self-reported significantly higher anxiety and depressive symptoms than did students without ADHD. Scores on parent-report measures of anxiety and depressive symptoms were significantly higher than scores on self-report measures. Significant sex differences were found for participants with ADHD, with females showing higher depressive and anxiety symptoms than males. Parent-reported anxiety symptoms were higher for those with inattentive type ADHD compared to combined type ADHD.

CONCLUSION: The current study highlights the importance of multi-informant assessment in ADHD evaluations for college-aged adults.