New research on working with ADHD
Working adults with ADHD describe a working life characterized by stress, anxiety, and recurring exhaustion. In his doctoral thesis, psychologist Martin Oscarsson investigated how work-related mental ill-health is experienced within this group and evaluated an internet-delivered stress-management program that may contribute to improved quality of life.
Cover illustration: Sofus Nyström
Martin Oscarsson earned his psychology degree from the Department of Psychology in 2018, after which he worked clinically at a specialist neuropsychiatric clinic.
– There, I met many adults with diagnosed or suspected ADHD who were on sick leave or had previously been on sick leave due to mental ill-health.
This experience led to what would eventually become the focus of his doctoral research.
– I wanted to explore experiences of work-related mental ill-health among working adults with ADHD and investigate whether an internet-delivered stress-management program could reduce this burden, says Martin Oscarsson.
Martin Oscarsson. Photo: Daniela Brandel
About the Thesis: Work-Related Mental Ill-Health in Adults With ADHD: Lived Experiences and Internet-Delivered Cognitive-Behavioral Stress Management
Method: The thesis is based on a four-year research project comprising three studies.
In Study I, 20 working adults with ADHD participated in interviews to explore how they understood the interplay between ADHD symptoms, workplace demands, and mental health.
The findings from Study I formed the basis for the development of Working with ADHD, an internet-delivered stress-management program based on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). The program was first tested in a pilot study involving 36 participants, with quality of life as the primary outcome measure.
In Study III, the revised program was evaluated in a randomized controlled trial involving 240 participants. The program was compared with an internet-delivered mindfulness-based stress-management program and a waitlist control group. Follow-up assessments were conducted 12 weeks after treatment completion.
Results: In the interview study, participants described a working life characterized by sustained stress, persistent anxiety, impaired recovery, and repeated episodes of exhaustion. They also reported that support from healthcare services was largely limited to pharmacological treatment of ADHD symptoms.
The pilot study demonstrated high adherence to the program and large pre-to-post improvements in quality of life and multiple symptom measures. Participants’ feedback was used to refine the program’s structure and content prior to the next study.
In the randomized controlled trial, both the CBT-based program and the mindfulness-based program produced better outcomes than the waitlist control with respect to quality of life and several symptom measures. These improvements were generally maintained at the 12-week follow-up. No significant differences between CBT and mindfulness were observed at post-treatment; however, at week 24, the mindfulness program showed a greater effect on depressive symptoms.
Next step: Reaching more people with the intervention
What is the most important finding from your research?
– That internet-delivered psychological treatment can be both feasible and helpful for working adults with ADHD, and that several therapeutic approaches can lead to positive outcomes.
Was there anything in the results that surprised you?
– In the third study of my thesis, the CBT-based program was not superior to the mindfulness-based program. That was initially surprising, but in retrospect I can see that the two programs were probably more similar than we had first assumed.
What happens next?
– I hope that the program we developed can be further refined and made available to more people. As for myself, I want to continue conducting clinically relevant research for the patient groups who need it most.
Martin Oscarsson during his doctoral defense, 13 May 2026.
Last updated: 2026-06-11
Source: Department of Psychology