This project is linked to dataset B2857

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood neuropsychiatric disorder characterised by impaired levels of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Meta-analyses estimate the global pooled prevalence of ADHD to be 7.2% in children and adolescents (Thomas et al., 2015) and 3.4% in adults (Fayyad et al., 2007). Cross-sectional studies have shown anxiety disorders are more prevalent in individuals with ADHD compared to the general population (Van Ameringen, Mancini, Simpson, & Patterson, 2010) and the rates increase with age; up to 30% of young people and 50% of adults (Kooji et al., 2012) with ADHD meet the diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder.
Although anxiety is highly prevalent in those with ADHD, much of the longitudinal research focuses on whether ADHD is associated with subsequent behaviour disorders and substance misuse. A 2008 systematic review by Jarret and Ollendick specifically identified a lack of longitudinal research on ADHD and subsequent anxiety; this finding still applies today. Longitudinal research on the matter is of importance to see whether ADHD symptoms predispose an individual to the development of anxiety. A recent study examined the association between co-occurring ADHD and anxiety from early to late adolescence and identified a bidirectional relationship between ADHD symptoms and anxiety (Murray et al., 2020) however, no study has examined longitudinal associations between childhood ADHD symptoms and anxiety in adolescence. This would provide a fuller picture of the association between ADHD and anxiety considering the onset of ADHD is often in childhood.

This project is linked to B2857.