Individuals with ADHD report diminished emotion regulation capacities and adversity in childhood detrimentally affects emotion regulation development; however, how positive childhood experiences (PCEs) and whether and how social support are related to PCEs and emotion regulation for those with ADHD is unknown. Objective: To identify direct and indirect associations between PCEs and social support to emotion regulation outcomes in adults with ADHD. Method: Adults with ADHD ( n = 81) reported PCEs, current social support, and emotion regulation. Conditional effects modeling examined the direct and indirect relationships between PCEs and emotion dysregulation through social support. Results: Higher PCEs were indirectly related to improved emotion regulation through increased social support generally (β = −.70, 95% CI [−1.32, −0.17], and specifically through belonging (β = −.43, 95% CI [ −0.87, −0.05], self-esteem (β = −.61, 95% CI [−1.08, −0.27], and tangible social support (β = −.50, 95% CI [−1.07, −0.02]. Conclusions: PCEs may protect emotion regulation in adults with ADHD through social support, possibly through facilitating social connections, increasing access to social support, and sustaining emotion regulation strategies.

Background: On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic. Responses to the pandemic response disrupted Canadian social connections in complex ways; because social connections are determinants of health and well-being, their disruption could adversely affect health and well-being. Moreover, understanding how pandemics and public health responses affect social connections could inform pandemic recovery strategy and public health approaches designed for future pandemics. The purpose of this study is to understand experiences of pandemic impact on social connections over the pandemic. Methods: A sample of 343 Canadian adults was recruited through Athabasca University and social media. Participants were predominantly White (81%) and female (88%). After the pandemic onset, participants responded to open-ended questions about the impact of the pandemic on and any changes to social connections at three time points (baseline, and three- and 6 months from study entry). Responses were categorized into epochs by date (April-June 2020 [Spring]; July-August 2020 [Summer]; September 2020-January 2021 [Fall/Winter]). Qualitative thematic analysis was used to code themes for each epoch. Results: Negative impact of the pandemic (37–45%), loss of social connections (32–36%), and alternative means of connection (26–32%) were prominent themes across the epochs. Restrictions to face-to-face connections were largest in spring (9%) and lowest in the Summer (4%). Conversely, participants increasingly reported limited contact or communication into the Fall and Winter (6–12%) as pandemic restrictions in Canada were reinstated. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic threatens social connections, with negative impacts that fluctuated with COVID-19 case rates and subsequent pandemic restrictions. These findings could be used to identify targets for social supports during the pandemic recovery, and to adjust public health strategies for future pandemics that minimize impact on social connections.

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted global public health restrictions that impacted Canadians in multiple ways. The effects of the pandemic are well examined in specific populations and in researcher-defined areas (e.g., mental health, physical activity, social connections, and financial impacts). Few studies explore the complex perspectives of adults who experienced and were impacted by the pandemic. The purpose of this study was to understand Canadian adults’ perspectives of pandemic impacts over time. Methods: A sample of 347 Canadian adults were recruited during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic to respond to open-ended questions about the pandemic’s impacts, administered every two weeks between April 2020 and January 2021. The responses were amalgamated into epochs, defined by dates that paralleled infection rates and public health responses in Canada. Qualitative thematic analysis identified major themes for each epoch and changes in themes over time. Results: The participants predominately reported adverse impacts of the pandemic during each epoch assessed, particularly with respect to mental health, future-oriented worry, activity restrictions, and social, and employment disruptions. Key concerns were potentially driven by changes in infection rates and public health policy changes. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted individuals in predominantly negative and complex ways that varied over time with public health responses. Findings from the present study may direct future pandemic responses to mitigate adverse effects to best prevent infection while preserving wellbeing.

Chronic stressors threaten child development with risk for poor mental health, disproportionately impacting those with pre-existing conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, associations between physical activity and mental health in children with ADHD during prolonged stressor experiences, such as the pandemic, are not well understood. Parents of youth ( n = 412) with ADHD ( n = 277) and without ADHD ( n = 132) reported their youth's weekly physical activity levels, mental health symptom severity and subjective well-being during the pandemic. Bivariate correlation, independent t-tests and hierarchical multiple regression analyses assessed and compared relationships among factors between youth with and without ADHD during the onset of the pandemic. Children with ADHD had significantly higher mental health symptom severity scores and substantially lower subjective well-being scores than children without ADHD. Overall, there was no difference in physical activity levels between those with and without ADHD, and no association was identified between physical activity and subjective well-being in either group. However, counter to expectations and unique to the current study, for those with ADHD, there was a relationship between increased physical activity levels and worsened mental health symptom severity, warranting targeted attention to intervention and mitigation for future stressors and social disruptions.