Self-compassion in adults with ADHD.
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: Psychology
Abstract
Through my own MSc research, and the work of Daley et al., it has been illustrated that children with ADHD often grow up in a family environment with increased hostility and less warmth towards the child. In addition, these children are often surrounded by others that stigmatise them as 'naughty' and 'low achievers'. As these experiences often occur during childhood/adolescence - a time when self-identity is developing, and peer views are of particular importance - it is hypothesised that these individuals may be prone to self-stigma ("degraded identity") which has a negative impact on social-functioning, self-esteem and quality of life.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Fuschia Sirois (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Danielle Beaton (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES/P000746/1 | 30/09/2017 | 29/09/2027 | |||
| 1940753 | Studentship | ES/P000746/1 | 30/09/2017 | 31/10/2022 | Danielle Beaton |
| Description | We have demonstrated that people with a diagnosis of ADHD and high traits of ADHD but no diagnosis are less self-compassionate than people with low ADHD traits and no diagnosis of ADHD. This means that people with ADHD are less kind, and more judgemental towards themselves during times of difficulty. People with ADHD are also more likely to over identify with situations, seeing the situation as something more than it is rather than looking at it mindfully and accepting the situation as it. Finally, people with ADHD are more likely to see situations as only happening to them because there is something about them that draws these negative experiences, rather than seeing it as part of the common human experience that everyone experiences. It was found that people with ADHD are more likely to relate to themselves in this less-compassionate way because they perceive higher levels of criticism from other people around them. This suggests that people with ADHD may internalise the negativity they perceive from others, and consequently relate it towards themselves. Furthermore, relating to the self with less compassion was then found to partially explain why people with ADHD have higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress and lower levels of well-being. |
| Exploitation Route | It opens up a new area of research - demonstrating that looking at self-compassion in ADHD is an important factor to consider, especially in regards to mental health and wellbeing. It also provides potential opportunity to develop self-compassion based interventions for people with ADHD to enhance mental health. |
| Sectors | Other |
| Title | Self-compassion, ADHD, Well-being |
| Description | I have a large data set of 1909 participants who completed a series of questionnaires including the: - The Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS; Kessler et al., 2005) - ADHD Traits - The Self-Compassion Scale (SCS; Neff, 2003) - Levels of Self-compassion. - The Adult Mental Health Continuum: Short Form (MHC-SF; Keyes, 2009) - Psychological, Emotional and Social well being. - The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS; Zigmond & Snaith, 1983) - Depression and Anxiety. - The perceived stress scale (PSS; Cohen, Kamarck & Mermeistein, 1983) - stress. - Perceived criticism was measured through one single question used by Baeken et al, (2018). "How critical do you think people in your nearest environment-such as family, friends -are of you?") The questionnaire also presented participants with the opportunity to provide some free text about their well-being and experiences of criticism through two open questions: - "Please use the box below to share your experiences of criticism from the people in your nearest environment (e.g. family, friends, colleagues...). Please leave box blank if you do not which to share your experiences." - "Is there anything more you would like to share with us about your well-being that you do not feel has been covered? Please leave box blank if you do not which to share your experiences. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This data set allowed us to answer our first research questions. |
| Description | Neurodevelopmental Disorders Annual Seminar 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I presented a poster of my first study. The audience included postgraduate students, but mainly researchers, lecturers and professors in neurodevelopmental psychology from across the UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Nottingham Careers Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I gave a talk about what it is like to be a PhD student, and how I got here to MSc students at the University of Sheffield. This was a very engaging group who asked a lot about my research and the process of research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Student Forum Representative |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I have worked as a student representative for the WRDTP. Within this I have helped in the organisation/delivery of the annual conference, a welcome event and a 'women in academia' conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020 |
| Description | The Centre for ADHD and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Across the Lifespan (CANDAL) 6th Annual Conference. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I presented a poster of my first study at the conference. It audience was varied, including people with neurodevelopmental disorders, clinicians who work with people with neurodevelopmental disorders, researchers, postgraduate students, and members of third party charities and schools. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | The University of Sheffield Psychology Departmental Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I presented a 15 minute talk to an audience of psychology postgraduate students and lecturers about the first study I had completed. I provided a summary of the background, aims, methods, results and discussion and engaged in a 5 minute question session afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | WRDTP 8th Annual Conference: Sustainable Development Goals. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I presented a poster and oral talk at this conference to fellow ESRC students. The poster I presented won the award for the best poster at the event, and people were very engaged when interacting with me at the poster stand. The oral presentation was to a smaller group of approximately 30 people. The presentation was 15 minutes long followed by questions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://drive.google.com/file/d/11PbxKestQDCom0SdvSop3lzk99UMk77f/view |