📘 What Was This Study About?
This research examined adults who were hospitalized for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and looked at how often ADHD and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) occurred together. The goal was to better understand how ADHD, trauma, PTSD, and alcohol use are connected.
🔍 Key Findings
🔹 ADHD and PTSD frequently occur together
- About 20% of hospitalized AUD patients showed signs of adult ADHD.
- Nearly half met criteria for PTSD.
- Among ADHD people, 84% also had PTSD, compared to 40% of non-ADHD people.
👉 This shows a very strong overlap between ADHD and PTSD.
🔹 ADHD people experienced more trauma
- ADHD people reported more traumatic events overall.
- They were especially more likely to experience:
- ⚠️ Physical violence
- ⚠️ Sexual assault
- ⚠️ Life-threatening situations
👉 Trauma exposure was significantly higher in the ADHD group.
🔹 PTSD symptoms were more severe in ADHD people
- ADHD people had stronger PTSD symptoms, including:
- 🔁 More flashbacks and intrusive memories
- 😰 Higher anxiety and hyper-alertness
- 🌧️ More negative thoughts and emotional distress
🔹 The ADHD–PTSD link remained strong
- Even after accounting for age, gender, and relationship status, ADHD was still strongly linked to PTSD.
👉 This means the connection is not explained by demographics alone.
🔹 This may be a high-risk group
- ADHD people with both PTSD and alcohol use problems may represent a distinct, higher-need subgroup.
- They may face greater challenges in recovery and benefit from more tailored, trauma-informed care.
⚠️ Important Things to Know About the Study
- The study used self-report questionnaires, not full diagnostic interviews.
- It was cross-sectional, meaning it cannot show which condition came first.
- Results apply mainly to hospitalized AUD patients, not all people with alcohol use concerns.
💛
This study suggests that higher rates of PTSD among ADHD people are better understood in the context of increased exposure to stressful and traumatic experiences, rather than as a feature of ADHD itself. Alcohol use may function as a way some ADHD people manage emotional intensity, stress, or trauma-related symptoms in environments that do not consistently support neurodivergent regulation needs. Viewing these patterns through a neurodiversity-affirming and trauma-informed lens helps shift the focus away from individual blame and toward understanding how support systems, care models, and treatment approaches can be better aligned with the lived experiences of ADHD people.
🔵 ADHD is frequently missed or untreated in alcohol treatment settings, even though about 1 in 5 adults in alcohol treatment meet criteria for ADHD.
🔵 ADHD people in alcohol treatment settings show higher rates of diagnosed PTSD than non-ADHD peers in the same settings.
🔵 Trauma symptoms tend to be more severe and more disruptive to daily functioning in ADHD people who are alcohol dependent, compared to non-ADHD alcohol-dependent peers.
🔵 In inpatient alcohol treatment samples, self-harm is associated with higher levels of ADHD symptoms.
🔵 In those same inpatient samples, childhood physical neglect appears more frequently among individuals with higher ADHD symptom levels.
🔵 These findings come from clinical treatment populations and describe risk clustering, not outcomes for all ADHD women.
📚 APA Reference
El Ayoubi, H., Brunault, P., Barrault, S., Maugé, D., Baudin, G., Ballon, N., & El-Hage, W. (2020). Posttraumatic stress disorder is highly comorbid with adult ADHD in alcohol use disorder inpatients. Journal of Attention Disorders, 24(13), 1892–1902. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054720903363