Disentangling racing thoughts from mind wandering in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Abstract

Mental restlessness reported by adult with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been mainly explained by excessive mind wandering. However, the description of a mind constantly on the go is also akin to racing thoughts, predominantly described in bipolar disorder. This paper aimed at disentangling mind wandering from racing thoughts in adult with ADHD. Associations between those mental phenomena and the ADHD symptomatology were also investigated. To this aim, 84 adults with ADHD completed self-reported questionnaires, including the Mind Wandering-Deliberate and Mind Wandering-Spontaneous questionnaires, the Racing and Crowded Thoughts Questionnaire and the Daydreaming Frequency Scale. Factorial analysis and multiple linear regressions were performed. The factor analysis yielded a two-factor solution. The first factor encompassed the three facets of racing thoughts and was predicted by emotional lability. The second comprised deliberated-MW, spontaneous-MW and daydreaming, but was neither related to the ADHD symptoms, nor functional impairment. These findings suggest that MW and racing thoughts are two distinguishable mental phenomena. Racing thoughts appear to be a relevant hypothesis to explain the mental restlessness in adult ADHD.