This study looked at strengths often linked with ADHD, and at how knowing and using one's strengths relates to life outcomes. It surveyed 400 UK adults recruited online. Half reported a formal ADHD diagnosis and half did not. The two groups were closely matched on sex, age, education and social and economic status. People who were autistic, or thought they might be, were screened out.
Adults with ADHD rated some of 25 possible ADHD-related strengths more highly than adults without ADHD. Hyperfocus, humor and creativity stood out. Overall, the ADHD group endorsed slightly more of these strengths, but the authors called the evidence for that overall difference weak.
The two groups did not differ in how well they knew their strengths or in how much they used them.
Across all 400 people, those who knew their strengths better tended to report better wellbeing and quality of life and fewer mental health symptoms. Using strengths more was also linked with higher wellbeing, better quality of life and lower depression. These links looked similar in people with and without ADHD. Within the ADHD group alone, greater strengths use went with better overall quality of life. Strengths knowledge did too, with weaker evidence.
These are associations, not proof that one thing causes another. Diagnoses were self-reported and not checked. Impairment was not measured. Strengths were rated by the participants themselves. Online recruitment may have drawn more people with lower support needs.
The numbers Stats and what the terms mean
The statistics behind the plain-language claims above.
- Hargitai, 2025: how many of the 25 strengths each group endorsed, ADHD M = 17.58, SD = 4.80 vs non-ADHD M = 16.33, SD = 4.90, BF10 = 2.69.
- Hargitai, 2025: strengths knowledge, ADHD M = 40.27, SD = 7.85 vs non-ADHD M = 40.56, SD = 7.36; t(396.38) = 0.39, p = 0.699, BF10 = 0.12.
- Hargitai, 2025: strengths use, ADHD M = 68.46, SD = 14.15 vs non-ADHD M = 68.18, SD = 14.20; t(397.99) = −0.20, p = 0.844, BF10 = 0.11.
- Hargitai, 2025: strengths knowledge predicting all life outcomes across the whole sample, all p ≤ 0.028, BF incl ranging from 1.58 for social quality of life to 68,964.34 for psychological quality of life.
- Hargitai, 2025: strengths use predicting higher subjective wellbeing, BF incl = 1.95 x 10 6 (as printed).
- Hargitai, 2025: strengths use predicting better physical, psychological and social quality of life, all p ≤ 0.003.
- Hargitai, 2025: strengths use predicting lower depression, BF incl = 656.58.
- Hargitai, 2025: whether the links differed by ADHD status, all p ≥ 0.241 for strengths knowledge and all p ≥ 0.157 for strengths use.
- Hargitai, 2025: within the ADHD group, strengths use predicting better global quality of life, BF incl = 1,724.69.
- Hargitai, 2025: within the ADHD group, strengths knowledge predicting better global quality of life, p = 0.009, BF incl = 2.56.
What the terms mean:
- M is the average score in a group.
- SD (standard deviation) shows how spread out the scores were around that average.
- t is a test statistic comparing two group averages; here it compared the ADHD and non-ADHD groups.
- p-value is a number from a statistical test that shows how unusual a result would be if there were really no effect, and it depends on the study's own assumptions being right.
- BF10 (Bayes factor) shows how much more the data support a real difference than no difference; values below 1 favor no difference, and here the authors called 2.69 anecdotal.
- BF incl (inclusion Bayes factor) shows how much the data support including a predictor in the model; larger values mean stronger evidence.
Source: Hargitai L, Laan E, Schippers L, et al.. The role of psychological strengths in positive life outcomes in adults with ADHD. Psychological Medicine (2025). doi:10.1017/s0033291725101232