The relationships between internalised shame, ADHD traits, and depression symptoms in college undergraduate students

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between three variables — internalised shame, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) traits, and depression — in college students. Forty-five college students from local autonomous universities in Singapore participated in this study by completing three separate self-report measures of internalised shame (Experience of Shame Scale), ADHD traits (Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale), and depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9). Correlational analyses were conducted to yield Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and results indicated statistically significant positive correlation between all variables, with the highest being between internalised shame and depression, and the lowest being between ADHD traits and depression. However, although results show female participants generally scoring higher on all three tests than male participants, a significant gender effect was not found using an independent t-test, possibly due to the unequal sample sizes. In conclusion, this study suggests that a higher amount of ADHD traits may be associated with higher levels of internalised shame and depression. Results also suggest internalised shame may be a mediating factor between ADHD traits and depression. Implications of this study include implementing better support systems for college students who exhibit ADHD traits that target reducing internalised shame which may potentially reduce the level of depression symptoms experienced.