Long-term effects of cognitive behavioural therapy on the quality of life in adult ADHD.

Authors

Ravian Wettstein, Valentina Navarro-Ovando, Viktoria Janke, Ron Mathôt, Glenn Dumont

Published in

PloS one. Volume 21. Issue 8. Pages e0356825. Epub Aug 28, 2026.

Abstract

This study examined the long-term effects (4-8 years) of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), added to pharmacotherapy and psychoeducation (PE), on quality of life (QoL) in adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Although previous findings showed no added QoL benefit of CBT immediately post-treatment, CBT provides skill-building and coping strategies that may yield delayed benefits in terms of ADHD-related functional impairments. We hypothesize that CBT will provide delayed treatment gains and thus results in higher QoL at follow-up or a slower decline in QoL over time. A follow-up study was conducted with 627 adults from a prior cohort that evaluated short-term CBT outcomes. Of these, 159 participants completed a long-term follow-up survey assessing QoL using the Adult ADHD Quality of Life scale (AAQoL). A linear mixed model revealed no significant treatment or treatment-by-time effects for the total AAQoL or its subdomains. However, a significant effect of time was observed across all measures. Post hoc comparisons indicated an increase in QoL from baseline (pooled mean = 44.4; PsyEd: 46.4, PsyEd + CBT: 42.4) to post-treatment (69.3), followed by a decline at follow-up (52.1), which remained above baseline levels. No significant between-group differences were found in the proportion of participants achieving clinically meaningful QoL improvements over time. These findings suggest that this study does not provide evidence for an added long-term QoL benefit of CBT beyond PE and pharmacotherapy, whereas initial treatment was associated with sustained improvement. Continued care beyond initial treatment may help maintain gains in adults with ADHD.

PMID:
42664236
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 29 Aug 2026.

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