ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. ADHD
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1622354
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Social Determinants of Health for College Students with ADHDView all 3 articles
Working title: Daily activities and self-esteem among university students with and without ADHD
Provisionally accepted
Eryn H Turner
Seth C Harty*- University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
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A diagnosis of ADHD has been repeatedly associated with low self-esteem in university students. Low self-esteem is associated with a range of negative outcomes including poor social function, increased psychopathology, and low academic self-efficacy.This study examined associations between ADHD, self-esteem, and daily activities in university students. A total of n =125 university students from New Zealand (50 meeting diagnostic criteria for ADHD), completed a survey measuring ADHD symptoms, self-esteem, and variables associated with self-esteem and a seven-day ecological momentary assessment survey measuring momentary self-esteem, mood, and current activity. ADHD was associated with a range of negative outcomes including low self-esteem, low general and academic selfefficacy, and high levels of mental distress. Global self-esteem was associated with momentary self-esteem. Differences between students with and without ADHD were observed both in momentary self-esteem ratings and the frequencies of endorsed activities. In both groups, decreased momentary self-esteem was associated with being alone and procrastinating. For other activities, a differential pattern of momentary self-esteem increases was observed across groups. This study provides support for the view that self-esteem is best conceptualised as both a stable trait and a state, fluctuating in response to daily events.Notably, this study also provides evidence that engagement in specific activities is associated with dynamic elevations in self-esteem among university students meeting diagnostic criteria for ADHD.
Keywords: ADHD, young adults, university students, self-esteem, daily activities
Received: 03 May 2025; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Turner and Harty. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Seth C Harty, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
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