Perceived Stress Is Associated With Lifetime ADHD Symptom Reporting Over and Above Anxiety and Depression: Implications for Psychiatric Evaluation and Treatment

Patients' subjective experience of stress was significantly associated with nonspecific inattention symptom endorsement among adults undergoing ADHD evaluation and shared more variance with attention complaints than active depression and anxiety symptoms. Findings emphasize routinely assessing perceived stress during psychiatric evaluation of ADHD, as high stress levels may masquerade as nonspecific inattention symptoms and contribute to misdiagnosis of ADHD if not considered/assessed, and high stress levels may also exacerbate genuine ADHD symptoms.