Objective: Depression and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are prevalent and highly comorbid. ADHD symptoms are associated with specific dependent (i.e., self-generated) stressors in children, and there is a strong link between dependent stress and depression. Despite continued comorbidity of ADHD and depressive symptoms into adulthood, it is unknown whether stress generation mediates the relation between ADHD and subsequent depressive symptoms in emerging adulthood, a period of heightened stress. Method: We tested this mediation model in a semester-long longitudinal study of 224 college students (aged 18–23 years). We additionally tested whether this model differed between inattentive versus hyperactive/impulsive ADHD symptoms given evidence that they vary in their relations to stress and depression. Results: Dependent stress mediated the association between total ADHD symptoms at baseline and later depressive symptoms; these effects were equivalent for inattentive versus hyperactive/impulsive ADHD symptoms. Conclusion: These findings suggest stress generation as a mechanism for increased depression in individuals with ADHD symptoms.

目的：抑郁症和注意力缺陷多动障碍 (ADHD) 普遍存在且高度共病。ADHD 症状与儿童特定的依赖（即自身产生的）压力源有关，依赖压力和抑郁之间存在密切联系。尽管 ADHD 和抑郁症状持续合并到成年期，但尚不清楚压力产生是否介导了 ADHD 与成年后出现的抑郁症状之间的关系，这是一个压力升高的时期。方法：我们在对 224 名大学生（18-23 岁）进行的为期一个学期的纵向研究中测试了这种中介模型。我们还测试了该模型在注意力不集中与多动/冲动 ADHD 症状之间是否存在差异，因为有证据表明它们与压力和抑郁的关系不同。结果：依赖压力介导了基线时的总 ADHD 症状与后来的抑郁症状之间的关联；这些效果对于注意力不集中与多动/冲动 ADHD 症状是等效的。结论：这些研究结果表明，压力产生是 ADHD 症状个体抑郁增加的一种机制。