Longitudinal Relationship of Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Symptoms with Perceived Stress and Job Satisfaction in Adulthood.

This study examined whether childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms predict adult occupational well-being and whether work characteristics mediate and condition these associations. Using four waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health; N = 5,407), we tested longitudinal associations between retrospectively reported childhood inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms and adult perceived stress and job satisfaction. Job demand and job control were assessed in early adulthood, and outcomes were measured in later adulthood. Path analyses adjusted for demographic and socioeconomic covariates. Childhood inattentive symptoms predicted higher perceived stress in adulthood and were indirectly associated with lower job satisfaction through both lower job control and higher job demand, as well as with higher perceived stress through lower job control. In addition, childhood inattentive symptoms moderated the association between job control and perceived stress. The stress-reducing association of job control was stronger among individuals with higher inattentive symptoms. These findings suggest that job control may be a particularly salient work characteristic for adults with greater attention-related difficulties.