2026 ECNP Congress

PS04-4153

Connection of dimensional ADHD-related traits, personal strengths and well-being in Hungarian youth

Kornél Vajsz — M. Miklósi, S. Bitrak, D. Pető, B. Juhász, X. Gonda · Semmelweis University, Department of Clinical Psychology- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Budapest, Hungary

2026 ECNP Congress

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is usually analysed in terms of symptoms and impairment, with less attention to how self-reported ADHD-related functioning relates to positive mental health. In youth samples, hedonic (emotional), and eudaimonic (social and psychological) aspects of well-being may show different associations with attentional functioning, hyperactivity/impulsivity, personal strengths and emotion-regulation strategies.

Aim: We examined whether SWAN inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity dimensions were associated with emotional, social and psychological well-being in Hungarian adolescents and young adults. We further tested whether personal strengths and cognitive emotion regulation added explanatory value and moderated the association between attentional functioning and well-being.

Methods: Participants were 14–25-year-old Hungarian adolescents and young adults recruited through a non-clinical online convenience survey. Complete-case samples were N=407 for emotional and N=405 for social and psychological well-being. ADHD-related functioning was assessed dimensionally by self-report using the Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD Symptoms and Normal Behaviour Scale (SWAN) [1]. Well-being was assessed with the Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) [2], distinguishing hedonic (emotional), and eudaimonic (social and psychological) aspects. Personal strengths were measured with the Bernstein Strengths Scale (BSS) [3]. Cognitive emotion regulation was represented by adaptive and maladaptive Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) composites, with checks using the nine subscales. Emotional and behavioural difficulties were controlled using the five Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) subscales. Separate z-standardised linear regression models were fitted for each well-being outcome. Incremental variance was tested by predictor blocks. Moderation models tested SWAN inattention x BSS/CERQ interactions, with false-discovery-rate correction.

Results: In fully adjusted models, higher scores on the SWAN inattention dimension, indicating better self-reported attentional functioning, were associated with social well-being (β=0.267 [95% CI = 0.151–0.383, p<0.001) and psychological well-being (β=0.314 [95% CI = 0.205–0.424], p<0.001), but not emotional well-being (β=0.058, p=0.339). SWAN hyperactivity/impulsivity was not independently associated with any outcome. Final models explained 22.6%, 26.1% and 34.2% of emotional, social and psychological well-being variance. SDQ emotional symptoms and peer problems were negative correlates, while prosocial behaviour was positively associated with social and psychological well-being. BSS self-directedness was independently associated with psychological well-being (β=0.131, p=0.049). BSS dimensions added variance to psychological well-being after SWAN and SDQ subscales (ΔR²=0.019, p=0.027), whereas CERQ composites did not (ΔR²=0.001, p=0.827). CERQ subscales showed no stable independent pattern. BSS dimensions moderated the association between SWAN inattention and well-being, most consistently for social well-being. The strongest interaction was SWAN inattention x BSS transcendence for social well-being (βi=0.151, q=0.005); simple slopes were β=0.120, β=0.271 and β=0.422 at low, average and high transcendence.

Conclusions: Self-reported attentional functioning was associated with social and psychological aspects of well-being, even after controlling for SDQ emotional and behavioural difficulties. Personal strengths, especially in interaction models, were more informative than cognitive emotion regulation. Cross-sectional online self-report data, the non-clinical sampling frame and a strongly female-skewed sample limit interpretation.

References

  1. Arnett, A.B., Pennington, B.F., Friend, A., Willcutt, E.G., Byrne, B., Samuelsson, S., Olson, R.K., 2013. The SWAN captures variance at the negative and positive ends of the ADHD symptom dimension. Journal of Attention Disorders 17(2), 152–162. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054711427399
  2. Keyes, C.L.M., Wissing, M., Potgieter, J.P., Temane, M., Kruger, A., van Rooy, S., 2008. Evaluation of the Mental Health Continuum–Short Form (MHC–SF) in Setswana-speaking South Africans. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy 15(3), 181–192. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.572
  3. Miklósi, M., Vajsz, K., Oláh, S., Nagy, V., Szabó, B., 2024. An investigation of the Bernstein’s Strengths Scale: factorial validity and network analysis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms, mental health, and the strengths of the healthy adult self. BMC Psychiatry 24, 725. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-024-06156-6