How does ADHD affect emotional empathy in adults?

Adults with ADHD have been shown to have less emotional empathy, which means they have more difficulty understanding the feelings of others that they are interacting with. A study found that adults with subclinical ADHD demonstrated significantly lower emotional empathy compared to controls (p=0.006).

This is part of the broader body of research looking at social challenges for adults with ADHD. While ADHD is typically seen as a condition affecting academics, it can also impact social life.

People with ADHD often face difficulties in understanding and responding to social cues, which can make social interactions challenging. Even though they may want to make friends, these social skills challenges can create barriers.

These challenges with emotional empathy may begin in childhood. A study investigating how children with ADHD perceive and understand others' feelings compared to children without ADHD found that those with ADHD showed lower empathy and social perspective taking abilities (p<0.01).

The differences remained significant even after considering factors like language skills, intelligence, and behavioral issues. This insight into children's empathy levels provides a foundation for discussing how ADHD might affect empathy from childhood into adulthood.

In addition to challenges with emotional empathy, individuals with ADHD often face communication barriers that can impact their ability to engage in social interactions. Children with ADHD may start talking later than their peers, which can make conversations difficult.

Understanding and using language appropriately in social settings is a significant challenge. Even simple jokes or sarcasm can be confusing, further complicating social interactions.

Difficulties in executive functioning, such as interference control, working memory, concept shifting, and verbal fluency, may also contribute to challenges in emotional empathy among adults with ADHD.

A study examining these aspects of executive functioning found significant deficits in concept shifting and verbal working memory in adults with ADHD (p=0.001). These deficits could be closely linked to the broader challenges faced by this group, including potential difficulties in emotional empathy.

ADHD affects the brain's control center, making it hard to plan and think before acting. This can lead to saying or doing things without considering how it affects others. Improving these control skills might help people with ADHD better understand and care about others' feelings.