The dynamical association between physical activity and affect in the daily life of individuals with ADHD

Abstract

Exercise interventions in mental disorders have evidenced a mood-enhancing effect. However, the association between physical activity and affect in everyday life has not been investigated in adult individuals with ADHD, despite being important features of this disorder. As physical activity and affect are dynamic processes in nature, assessing those in everyday life with e- diaries and wearables, has become the gold standard. Thus, we used an mHealth approach to prospectively assess physical activity and affect processes in individuals with ADHD and con- trols aged 14–45 years. Participants wore accelerometers across a four-day period and reported their affect via e-diaries twelve times daily. We used multilevel models to identify the within- subject effects of physical activity on positive and negative affect. We split our sample into three groups: 1. individuals with ADHD who were predominantly inattentive ( n = 48), 2. in- dividuals with ADHD having a combined presentation (i.e., being inattentive and hyperactive; n = 95), and 3. controls ( n = 42). Our analyses revealed a significant cross-level interaction (F(2, 135.072) = 5.733, p = 0.004) of physical activity and group on positive affect. In details, all groups showed a positive association between physical activity and positive affect. Indi- viduals with a combined presentation significantly showed the steepest slope of physical ac- tivity on positive affect (slope_inattentive = 0.005, p < 0.001; slope_combined = 0.009, p < 0.001; slope_controls = 0.004, p = 0.008). Our analyses on negative affect revealed a negative associ- ation only in the individuals with a combined presentation (slope = -0.003; p = 0.001). Whether this specifically pronounced association in individuals being more hyperactive might be a mech- anism reinforcing hyperactivity needs to be empirically clarified in future studies.