Paths of Faith and Focus? ADHD, Adult Religiosity, and Moderation by Race in the Add Health Study

ABSTRACT

Despite extensive research on attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), little is known about how ADHD shapes religious belief and practice across the life course. Using longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), this study examines whether childhood ADHD diagnosis is associated with multiple dimensions of adult religiosity—religious service attendance, religious importance, and prayer—and whether these associations vary by race/ethnicity. Ordinal logistic regression models show that an ADHD diagnosis before age 18 is strongly and persistently associated with lower religious attendance in early midlife, even after adjusting for adolescent religiosity, demographics, and health selection. In contrast, associations between ADHD and private religiosity were largely explained by background factors. The negative association between ADHD and attendance is significantly stronger for Black and Asian American adults than Whites. We highlight the importance of integrating neurodiversity into research on disability and religiosity across the life course.