Poster #18 - Social-Emotional Outcomes in Youth With ADHD: Influence of Self-Compassion on Peer Rejection and Rejection Sensitivity

• In Event: Poster Session 02

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is an increasingly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder that has been associated with negative interpersonal outcomes such as peer rejection and rejection sensitivity. Research on typically developing populations have shown that self-compassion can mitigate the impact of self-criticism, isolation, and rumination often experienced by those who are rejected by others. This work will examine whether and how ADHD predicts peer rejection and rejection sensitivity compared to typically developing adolescents, how these respective relationships contribute to mental health outcomes, and how self-compassion might moderate this relationship. Specifically, this work will respond to three research questions: (1) How does ADHD differentially predict peer rejection and rejection sensitivity in adolescents compared to typically developing samples; (2) How does this relationship then predict mental health outcomes (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress); and (3) how does self-compassion moderate the influence of peer rejection and rejection sensitivity among adolescents with ADHD and typically developing adolescents? Participants for this work will include 400 adolescents between the ages of 18 and 22 (50% diagnosed with clinical ADHD) who will complete a self-report online questionnaire. The predictive value of ADHD on peer rejection and rejection sensitivity, and the predictive value of peer rejection and rejection sensitivity on mental health outcomes and the moderating role of self-compassion will then be examined in a path analysis using hierarchical regression.

Authors

• Alia Hussain, Wilfrid Laurier University
  Presenting Author

• Katrina Rita Abela, McMaster University

• Danielle M Law, Wilfrid Laurier University