The relationship between product-based creativity and ADHD traits in children and the associations with later...

Creativity is increasingly recognized as a positive aspect among adults with ADHD and those with high ADHD scores, but evidence in youth is limited, particularly regarding product-based creativity. It also remains unclear whether higher creativity benefits the lower well-being typically associated with ADHD traits. This study investigated associations between ADHD traits and product-based creativity in children, as well as longitudinal associations with well-being. Data were sourced from the Twins Early Development Study, a population-based sample of twins. ADHD traits (age 8), product-based creativity (age 9, writing task), and well-being (age 16) of 1,170 children were assessed. Correlation and regression analyses were used to explore the associations of ADHD trait dimensions (inattentiveness and hyperactivity/impulsivity) with writing-based creativity. Moderation analyses were conducted to examine whether this writing-based creativity moderated the association between childhood ADHD traits and later well-being. Additionally, we conducted exploratory analyses on children meeting screening criteria for suspected ADHD. We observed a small negative correlation between inattentiveness and writing-based creativity, which remained significant after controlling for hyperactivity/impulsivity, sex, IQ, reading, and writing. The writing-based creativity did not moderate the negative association between ADHD traits and well-being, nor did we observe differences in well-being between high-creativity and low-creativity groups among children meeting screening criteria for suspected ADHD. Future research utilizing diverse creativity measures beyond writing tasks is warranted to explore the developmental relationship between ADHD traits, creativity, and well-being. Additionally, our results highlight that taking both a creativity-domain-specific and a lifespan perspective is needed when studying and understanding ADHD-related positive aspects.