Interactive Effects of Prenatal Maternal Adversity and COVID‑19 Objective Hardship on Youth ADHD Symptoms: A Longitudinal Study

The COVID‑19 pandemic introduced widespread disruptions to daily life and heightened perceptions of personal threat, both linked to worsening youth mental health outcomes. However, it remains unclear how pandemic-related stress interacts with earlier maternal adversity to predict attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, and whether these associations differ across informants. Using data from the Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment (MAVAN) cohort, this study examined the independent and interactive effects of prenatal maternal adversity and pandemic-related objective hardship on ADHD symptoms during the pandemic, as reported by youth (n = 124) and their mothers (n = 91). Analyses controlled for site, age, gender, and pre-pandemic ADHD scores. Objective hardship included two dimensions, Daily Life Changes and Personal Threat, capturing distinct aspects of pandemic stress exposure. Using latent factor modeling (LEGIT), we tested both general ADHD composites and separate inattention and hyperactivity components. Results indicated that Daily Life Changes were positively associated with youth-reported ADHD symptoms, whereas Personal Threat was more strongly related to mother-reported inattention. This divergence may reflect developmental and perceptual differences in how each informant experienced the pandemic: youth appeared more affected by disruptions to their routines, whereas mothers’ perceptions were shaped by their own sense of threat and vigilance surrounding COVID‑19. Findings highlight the importance of incorporating multiple informants and contextual factors when assessing ADHD outcomes during collective stress events.