Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31932968›Full record

ArticleEuropean child & adolescent psychiatry2020

What explains the link between childhood ADHD and adolescent depression? Investigating the role of peer relationships and academic attainment.

Victoria Powell, Lucy Riglin, Gemma Hammerton, Olga Eyre, Joanna Martin, Richard Anney, Anita Thapar, Frances Rice

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European child & adolescent psychiatry, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
45citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
8.6field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

45 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 96 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  7. Polygenic scores in psychiatric research and clinical practice.Medizinische Genetik : Mitteilungsblatt des Berufsverbandes Medizinische Genetik e.V · 2026
    Article
  8. Article
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  11. Linking ADHD to Depression in Adolescents: the Mediating Role of Social Skills.Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · 2026
    Article
  12. Article
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  19. Momentary Dynamics Implicate Emotional Features in the ADHD Phenotype.Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · 2024
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Victoria PowellMRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1599-1209
Lucy RiglinMRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Gemma HammertonPopulation Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Olga EyreMRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Joanna MartinMRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Richard AnneyMRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Anita ThaparMRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Frances RiceMRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK. ricef2@cardiff.ac.uk.
Cardiff University · GBUniversity of Bristol · GB

Funding

Medical Research Council 092731Medical Research Council G9815508Medical Research Council MC_PC_15018Medical Research Council MC_PC_19009Medical Research Council MR/L010305/1Medical Research Council MR/R004609/1MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics MR/R004609/1Wellcome Trust 102215/2/13/2Wellcome Trust 104408/Z/14/ZWellcome Trust 106047Wellcome Trust 204895/Z/16/ZWellcome Trust 209138/Z/17/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

There is increasing evidence that childhood Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) elevates risk of later depression, but the mechanisms behind this association are unclear. We investigated the relationship between childhood ADHD symptoms and late-adolescent depressive symptoms in a population cohort, and examined whether academic attainment and peer problems mediated this association. ALSPAC (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children) is an ongoing prospective longitudinal population-based UK cohort that has collected data since September 1990. 2950 individuals with data on parent-reported ADHD symptoms in childhood (7.5 years) and self-reported depressive symptoms in late adolescence (17.5 years) were included in analyses. 2161 individuals with additional data at age 16 years on parent-reported peer problems as an indicator of peer relationships and formal examination results (General Certificate of Secondary Education; GCSE) as an indicator of academic attainment were included in mediation analyses. Childhood ADHD symptoms were associated with higher depressive symptoms (b = 0.49, SE = 0.11, p < 0.001) and an increased odds of clinically significant depressive symptoms in adolescence (OR = 1.27, 95% CI 1.15-1.41, p < 0.001). The association with depressive symptoms was mediated in part by peer problems and academic attainment which accounted for 14.68% and 20.13% of the total effect, respectively. Childhood ADHD is associated with increased risk of later depression. The relationship is mediated in part by peer relationships and academic attainment. This highlights peer relationships and academic attainment as potential targets of depression prevention and intervention in those with ADHD. Future research should investigate which aspects of peer relationships are important in conferring later risk for depression.

Indexed as

Academic SuccessAdolescentAttention Deficit Disorder with HyperactivityChildDepressionFemaleHumansInterpersonal RelationsLongitudinal StudiesMaleProspective StudiesAcademic attainmentADHDALSPACDepressionPeer relationships

Identifiers

PMID31932968
PMCPMC7595988
OpenAlexW2998894285

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.