What Really Drives Depression in ADHD Kids and Teens?
A neurodivergent-affirming breakdown of the latest research (and what it means for real support)
What This Study Teaches Us: How to Reduce Depression Risk in ADHD at Every Stage
I want to share my process (a daily hobby) and how I approach research like this.
When I read studies, I always ask:
How can we interpret this study's implications through a neurodivergent-affirming lens?
Most studies offer suggestions, but they usually come from a more pathologizing, neurotypical, medicalized perspective.
This 2025 study followed over 30,000 children and teens to explore why people with ADHD are more likely to develop depression. The researchers identified key emotional and cognitive patterns—called mediators—that help explain how this connection develops and changes as kids grow into teens and young adults.
Why This Matters
What the researchers found is crucial:
Different traits show up at different developmental stages—and each one increases depression risk in its own way.
Knowing this can help us better tailor support to each stage of development to reduce that risk.
👓 Two Ways of Seeing
The clinical lens tends to ask:
“What’s broken in the child/teen/person, and how do we fix it?”
(Which often leads to social skills training, behavior plans, or more pressure to mask.)
The neurodivergent-affirming lens asks:
“What has this child/teen/person experienced? What are they communicating through their struggles? And how can we support them in ways that are safe, validating, and honoring of their needs?”
🧒 In Childhood
🧾 What the study found:
ADHD is more strongly linked to irritability and emotion recognition difficulties in childhood.
These traits were associated with a greater risk of developing depression later on.
What we can do:
Understand that irritability is often a sign of nervous system overwhelm, not defiance.
Create calm, sensory-safe environments and use co-regulation instead of behavior correction.
Support emotion understanding with gentle, curiosity-based conversations, not forced social skills training.
Focus on connection, predictability, and belonging, which protect against early shame and social rejection.
🧑 In Adolescence
🧾 What the study found:
As teens grow, ADHD is more strongly linked to:
Executive function challenges (attention, memory, response inhibition)
Negative cognitive styles (like thinking you have no control, or expecting failure)
These struggles increase the risk of depression, especially during times of identity development and academic/social pressure.
What we can do:
Recognize that these challenges aren’t about motivation—they’re about capacity and demand mismatch.
Offer accommodations, structure, and flexibility that meet them where they are.
Normalize their thinking patterns as understandable responses to years of being misunderstood—not distortions to be fixed.
Use self-compassion and narrative healing tools to build self-trust and resilience.
🧑🎓 In Young Adulthood
🧾 What the study found:
Executive function difficulties and negative self-beliefs often persist into young adulthood, putting people with ADHD at continued risk for depression.
The study noted that prior research suggests traditional depression treatments—like CBT—may be less effective for children and adolescents with ADHD.
What we can do:
Help young adults build systems of self-accommodation that honor their brain, not fight it.
Use therapy approaches that are bottom-up, body-based, creative, or compassion-focused, rather than purely cognitive.
Offer support that validates their lived experience and helps them rewrite the internalized shame they’ve carried for years.
Create spaces where they can safely explore their identity and feel like they belong.
😟 Anxiety Across All Ages
🧾 What the study found:
Anxiety was a consistent risk factor for depression across all developmental stages.
It wasn’t more intense at one age—but it was always present.
What we can do:
View anxiety as a signal of stress or unpredictability, not a broken system.
Provide consistent routines, low-pressure environments, and choice.
Let kids, teens, and young adults know their anxiety makes sense—and they’re not alone in it.
The Big Picture: Support Changes as People Grow
This study makes it clear:
There’s no one-size-fits-all path to depression in ADHD.
The risks and needs shift over time.
So support should, too.
Early childhood is about safety, co-regulation, and acceptance.
Adolescence is about autonomy, identity, and emotional validation.
Young adulthood is about self-accommodation, community, and rewriting old narratives.
And at every stage, listening with compassion beats reacting with correction.
💬 Final Thoughts
I hope you find a neurodivergent-affirming approach to ADHD research valuable. If you’d like to learn more about the actual research study, you can view it here:
View the full research article (2025)
🙋♀️ About Me
I’m Kristen McClure, MSW, LCSW—a therapist with 30 years of experience, a child and mental health advocate, and a neurodivergent-affirming coach. I run a therapy practice in Charlotte, NC, and have developed a comprehensive, neurodivergent-affirming program for ADHD and AuDHD women.
🌸 Interested in learning more?
Learn more about the Flourish program: here
🔹 Join the waitlist for the next 35-week support group for ADHD women, Flourish cohort ( Each group includes videos, workbooks and the live support group) here
🔹 Join my free, affirming community for neurodivergent women: here
🔹 Are you a therapist and want to learn about the flourish model? I’m considering teaching this model and sharing the materials. Sign up here
I also write four free newsletters on Substack, covering:
ADHD advocacy
Neurodivergent children
Therapist development
ADHD Women
I am reading Christopher Palmer's book Brain Energy. He writes about the connection between depression and other mental condition including ADHD. He explains how these conditions share the same pathway or root cause and link them to metabolic health.