The expression of adult ADHD symptoms in daily life: an application of experience sampling methodology.
OBJECTIVE
To use experience sampling method (ESM) to examine the impact of inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive ADHD symptoms on emotional well-being, activities and distress, cognitive impairment, and social functioning assessed in the daily lives of young adults. The impact of subjective appraisals on their experiences is also examined.


METHODS
Participants (n = 206) complete up to 56 in-the-moment assessments of mood and current activities using Personal Digital Assistants for 1 week.


RESULTS
Multilevel modeling techniques reveal that ADHD inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms differentially relate to daily experiences. Higher inattentive symptoms are associated with indices of general distress, including less positive and more negative mood as well as more concentration problems. Higher hyperactive-impulsive symptoms are associated with reduced sensitivity to contextual factors in perceptions of situations.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings demonstrate predictive validity for adult self-report of ADHD symptoms in a general population sample and suggest future research directions using ESM.
Knouse
Laura E
LE
Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA. leknouse@uncg.edu
Mitchell
John T
JT
Brown
Leslie H
LH
Silvia
Paul J
PJ
Kane
Michael J
MJ
Myin-Germeys
Inez
I
Kwapil
Thomas R
TR
D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D007174:Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires