Speaker
Presentation in English
STEPHEN BECKER
UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI. UNITED STATES
Stephen P. Becker, PhD, is Professor of Pediatrics, Endowed Chair, Associate Division Director-Research, and Co-Director of the Center for ADHD in the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Supported by funding from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES, U.S. Department of Education), the overall objective of Dr. Becker’s research is to better understand the developmental pathways, co-occurring psychopathologies (particularly cognitive disengagement syndrome and sleep), and resilience and risk processes related to ADHD across the life span. Dr. Becker has authored over 275 publications and has edited a book on ADHD in adolescence (Guilford Press). He serves on numerous journal editorial boards, including Joint Editor for JCPP Advances and Associate Editor for the Journal of Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology (Revista de Psicología Clínica con Niños y Adolescentes).
Dr. Becker is also committed to training and mentorship, and to advancing inclusive practices to support researchers, clinicians, and clinical and research populations in the study and care of ADHD and related conditions
Beyond the Deficit: Strengths, Resilience, and Positive Development in ADHD and Anxiety in Adolescence and Young Adulthood
This symposium highlights emerging strengths-based perspectives in ADHD and anxiety by integrating research on resilience, creativity, temperament, and positive youth development. Across four studies involving researchers from three countries, findings reveal nuanced associations between resilience and ADHD symptom domains, evidence of creative and temperamental strengths in adolescents and young adults with ADHD, and the importance of family emotional climate and psychological resources in shaping developmental pathways.
First, Amorós-Reche and colleagues present longitudinal data from a large national sample of Spanish adolescents to examine whether resilience functions as a protective factor or a concurrent correlate of ADHD symptoms. Their findings highlight differential, and in some cases nonlinear, associations with inattention and hyperactivity, underscoring particular vulnerability among adolescents with predominantly inattentive profiles.
Second, Becker focuses on creativity and imagination as underexplored strengths in adolescents with ADHD, with particular attention to sex differences. Using multi-informant ratings and performance-based creative thinking tasks, this work identifies areas of heightened creative expression, especially among females with ADHD, challenging deficit-oriented assumptions.
Third, Galindo and colleagues examine temperamental strengths in young adults with ADHD from a positive psychology framework. Results suggest that ADHD in adulthood is associated with elevated cognitive activity and energy, supporting a more nuanced understanding of how ADHD-related traits may function as strengths in certain contexts.
Finally, Scaini presents findings from a large cross-national study examining positive youth development in relation to family emotional climate and anxiety-related contexts. By testing resilience, mindfulness, emotion regulation, and purpose in life as mediating mechanisms, this work highlights how family-level processes and psychological resources jointly shape adaptive developmental outcomes across cultures.
Together, these presentations illustrate how individual and contextual strengths can inform more balanced and resilience-promoting models of ADHD and anxiety in adolescents and early adulthood.
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