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ADHD - Adult

Does Stimulant Medication Status Moderate the Relationship between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Symptoms and Rumination?

(PS11-A5) Does Stimulant Medication Status Moderate the Relationship Between attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Symptoms and Rumination?

Sunday, November 20, 2022

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM EST

Location: Westside Ballroom, 5th Floor

Author(s)

AR

Annie Reiner, B.A.

Clinical Psychology PhD Candidate
University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Co-Author(s)

MJ

Matthew Jarrett, Ph.D.

DCT
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
AL

Aaron M. Luebbe, Ph.D.

Professor
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio
MK

Michael Kofler, Ph.D.

Professor
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida
SB

Stephen P. Becker, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Medical Center
Cincinnati, Ohio
LB

Leonard Leonard. Burns, Ph.D.

Professor
Washington State University
Pullman, Washington
AG

Annie A. Garner, Ph.D.

Professor
Saint Louis University
St. Louis, Missouri

Previous research suggests that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk for experiencing task-unrelated thoughts (Bozhilova et al., 2018), specifically ruminative thinking (Yeguez et al., 2018; Jonkman et al., 2017) and mind-wandering (Seli et al., 2015; Biederman et al., 2019; Lanier et al., 2019). However, compared to the literature on the relationship between mind-wandering and ADHD symptoms, there has been significantly less interest in the relationship between ADHD symptoms and ruminative thinking patterns (Fredrick et al., 2020). Over many years, research has also shown that stimulant medications are effective in reducing ADHD symptoms, at least in the short-term (Angold et al., 2000). However, no research has looked at whether stimulant medication buffers the relationship between ADHD symptoms and rumination. Given this gap in the literature, the current study examined whether stimulant medication status moderates the relationship between ADHD symptoms and rumination. Participants (n = 4647) were undergraduate psychology students from six universities (29.7% male; Mage = 19.08; SDage = 1.36) who participated in a larger, IRB approved study examining ADHD symptoms, co-occurring symptoms, and domains of functioning. In the current study, ADHD symptoms were evaluated using the Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale-IV (BAARS-IV). Rumination was measured using the Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS). Medication status was assessed via a demographic questionnaire, and data were coded to reflect whether participants do (code = 0) or do not (code = 1) take a stimulant medication. Moderation analyses were conducted via the PROCESS macro for SPSS, an approach that uses bootstrapping in the examination of main and interaction effects. Results of the moderation model indicated a significant main effect for ADHD symptoms (𝛣= 18.98, p < .05, 95% CI [17.37, 20.58]) and a significant interaction effect (𝛣 = 1.54, p < .05, 95% CI [-6.26, -.22]). Examination of conditional effects revealed significant simple slopes but a stronger relationship for those off (𝛣 = 15.32, p < .05, 95% CI [14.38, 16.25]) versus on (𝛣 = 12.07, p < .05, 95% CI [9.20, 14.94]) stimulant medication. These preliminary findings suggest that stimulant medication may serve to buffer the relationship between ADHD symptoms and rumination in college students. Future research should continue to investigate the potential benefits of stimulant medication for ruminative thinking.