Experiences of hyperfocus and flow in college students with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Hyperfocus and flow are experiences of intense concentration associated with reduced perception of irrelevant stimuli and improved task performance (Ashinoff & Abu-Akel, 2021). Historically, hyperfocus has been conceptualized as a symptom of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), autism, or schizophrenia within the psychiatry literature, whereas flow has been construed as an enjoyable and facilitative experience within positive psychology. Recent studies (e.g., Ashinoff & Abu-Akel, 2021) have suggested that hyperfocus and flow are the same phenomenon viewed through different lenses. The present study investigates hyperfocus and flow experiences of college students with and without clinically significant symptoms of ADHD. Eight-five undergraduate volunteers with and without ADHD completed measures of dispositional hyperfocus and flow, as well as an ADHD screening instrument. Correlations showed that most elements of hyperfocus were negatively or not correlated with most aspects of flow. Further, a MANOVA and post-hoc ANOVAs revealed that students with clinically significant levels of ADHD symptoms reported higher levels of hyperfocus and lower levels of most aspects of flow compared to students without ADHD. These results suggest either that hyperfocus and flow are distinct, inversely related constructs, or that the wording of the questionnaire items influences responders to think of their experiences of task absorption differently.