"Understanding the daily life experiences of young people with ADHD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Illuminating the daily life experiences of adolescents with ADHD: An ecological momentary assessment study
IRAS ID
320059
Contact name
Aja Murray
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 7 months, 16 days
Research summary
Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk of a range of difficulties. Emotion regulation, peer, and co-occurring mental health problems are prominent problems. To better support adolescents with ADHD, interventions that work in a real-world setting are needed. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) designs (i.e. study designs that collect data at multiple time points throughout the day over multiple days or weeks) can inform such interventions. In the mental health in-the-moment ADHD (MHIM-ADHD) study, we will capture the daily life experiences of 120 adolescents aged 12-14 years with a clinical diagnosis of ADHD. Participants will be recruited via clinicians working with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in three primary sites in Scotland and one in England (as well as via CAMHS-run Facebook groups). We will collect some more information on participants' moods and behaviours from online surveys. We will ask parents and young people to complete separate questionnaires at the beginning of the study. Young people will then be asked to download a smartphone app to complete short surveys on their phones five times a day over a two-week period (± 2 days). At the end of the study, we will ask parents and young people to complete another short questionnaire. Among other research questions, we will examine the role of emotion regulation and peer problems in mediating the links between characteristics of ADHD and commonly co-occurring emotional and behaviour problems such as anxiety, depression, and conduct problems. We will try to identify factors that can protect against ADHD and co-occurring emotional and behaviour problems such as caregiver relationships and attachment security. We will give young people a gift worth up to £30 for participating in the study. Parents/caregivers will be given the option of being included in a draw for a token of appreciation worth £50.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/NW/0038
Date of REC Opinion
4 Apr 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion