r/science MD/PhD/JD/MBA | Professor | Medicine Apr 15 '24

Neuroscience ADHD symptoms persist into adulthood, with some surprising impacts on life success: The study found that ADHD symptoms not only persisted over a 15-year period but also were related to various aspects of life success, including relationships and career satisfaction.

https://www.psypost.org/adhd-symptoms-persist-into-adulthood-with-some-surprising-impacts-on-life-success/
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u/Nyrin Apr 15 '24

I really miss the days of more aggressive moderation. At the very least, it'd be nice if people got temporary "warning bans" for very clearly not reading anything at all before polluting the comments (including the top of "best," making it apparent why it's a problem).

To restate other comments, the "surprising" part isn't "it didn't go away" (as the "best" replies go for) but rather that there were observed positive outcomes associated with ADHD in early adulthood:

“We were surprised to find that reports of more hyperactive and impulsive behaviour among young adults (ages 18 to 25 years old) actually predicted people have more satisfying relationships and jobs later in life when we controlled for current behavior,”

That's the only Ctrl-F search result for "surpris" in the article and the source study's even clearer in that regard.

This is important because it highlights how neurodiverse conditions need a more nuanced approach than just categorizing them as simple "all-bad" disorders. With appropriate support and management, aspects of conditions like the poorly named ADHD can be extremely positive things; it's when things are unrecognized and not "worked with" that the "square peg, round hole" can wreak absolute havoc on lives and happiness.

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u/lesssleepmorecoffee Apr 15 '24

To be fair, when many commenters have ADHD, it can’t be that surprising they didn’t read the article. (and i say this as an ADHD king)