Cognitive Responses to Stress, Depression, and Anxiety and Their Relationship to ADHD Symptoms in First Year Psychology Students

Abstract

Objective: To explore the relationship between levels of reported depression, anxiety, and stress with scores on the Conners’s Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS). Method: Information was obtained from 84 1st-year psychology students using the CAARS, the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS), and the Life Experiences Survey (LES). Results: Approximately 23%, 18%, and 12% of students scored above critical values on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., DSM-IV) Inattention Symptoms, the DSM-IV ADHD Symptoms Total, and the Inattention/Restlessness subscales, respectively. CAARS scores were positively related to reported levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, which accounted for significant variance among the three subscales. Only 5% of participants scored above recommended critical values on the ADHD index; however, a significant amount of the variance on this measure was also attributable to the DASS. Conclusion: Mood symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and stress may obscure correct attribution of cause in those being evaluated for ADHD.