--- title: "Scientists Find Link Between ADHD, Depression and Hypersexuality" description: "A new study suggests that people with ADHD who experience depressive symptoms may use sex as a means of self-medication." date: "2024-02-23" modified: "2024-02-23" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/adhd-depression-hypersexuality" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Studies" tags: - "adhd" - "depression" - "sex" - "sexuality" --- # Scientists Find Link Between ADHD, Depression and Hypersexuality ![A new study suggests that people with ADHD who experience depressive symptoms may use sex as a means of self-medication.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Although the interplay between [sex and mental health]() is well-studied, a new study suggests there may be a complex correlation between seemingly disparate disorders. In a new paper [published in the *Journal of Affective Disorders Reports*](), a group of Italian psychology researchers say they've found a correlation between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depressive symptoms, hypomania (the clinical term for "mania" or high energy) and hypersexuality, or an intense preoccupation with sexual thoughts and acts — and that people who experience these sets of symptoms may use sex as a sort of "self-medication." Study coauthors Giacomo Ciocca, a sexual psychology assistant professor at Rome's Sapienza University, and Davide Doroldi, a clinical psychologist, told *PsyPost* that they were inspired to look into the possible link after observing higher rates of hypersexuality among people with ADHD. Using an online questionnaire with subjects recruited from social media, the Italian psychologists assessed ADHD symptoms and occurrence of hypersexuality for 309 participants ranging in age from 18 to 79. They found, fascinatingly, that respondents' hypersexual thoughts and acts seemed to increase when they were either depressive, manic, or in slightly psychotic states. One key factor, as [previous studies have shown](), seems to be impulsivity — which, of course, people with both ADHD and hypersexuality struggle with. When experiencing depression or hypomania, however, people may also use sex to calm down or alleviate stress, and not just be doing so out of impulsiveness, the scientists argue. "Strong negative emotions and difficulties in emotional regulation trigger sexual behavior, which is used as an emotion-based coping strategy," the researchers told *PsyPost*. "Individuals with ADHD, partly because of the problems due to the condition, are particularly vulnerable to dysphoric emotional states." Notably, the study skewed largely female, with more than 67 percent of respondents in the sample being women. While that reflects a need for further research into this relationship, it also shines a light on both ADHD and hypersexuality in women, both of which have been [understudied](), [stigmatized](), and [misunderstood]() for years. As the Italians noted to *PsyPost*, hypersexuality "often characterizes many psychopathological conditions" and is "a consequence of some major mental diseases." In the case of this new research, however, it can also be something of a coping mechanism — which not only could reduce the [pathologization of such behaviors]() and thoughts, but could help the psychiatric community better understand the way people who live with ADHD experience the world, too. **More on sexuality studies:** [*Controversial New Research Find That Bisexuals Are a Bunch of Rascals*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()