The Double-Mediating Effect of Interpersonal Competence and Social Support on the Relationship between ADHD Traits and Depression in Early Adulthood

Background: This study aims to analyze the relationship between interpersonal competence, social support, ADHD traits, and depression in early adulthood, and by using the double-mediation model, to examine the effect of the first two variables on the last two.Methods: The participants comprised 146 male and 155 female adults aged between 19 and 34, from whom data was collected through the Korean version of the WHO Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale, interpersonal competence and depression subscales of the mental health test developed by Suh et al., and social support scale developed by Iverson et al.Results: The results showed that adult ADHD traits were negatively correlated with interpersonal competence and social support, and positively correlated with depression. In addition, interpersonal competence was positively correlated with social support and negatively correlated with depression, whereas social support was negatively correlated with depression. Finally, interpersonal competence and social support sequentially mediated adult ADHD traits and depression.Conclusions: This sequential double-mediating effect is of great academic significance and suggests that improving interpersonal competence and social support may be effective in mitigating the negative effect of ADHD traits on depression in early adulthood.