Childhood Adversity, ADHD Symptoms, Shame, and Well-Being in College Students

Childhood adversity is consistently associated with long-term psychological challenges, most notably impaired self-regulatory capacities and lower levels of subjective well-being (SWB). The present study examined the associations among adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), shame (internal and external), ADHD symptoms, and SWB. It was hypothesized that (i) ADHD symptoms and internal/external shame would sequentially mediate the relationship between ACEs and SWB, and (ii) ADHD symptoms would mediate the association between ACEs and shame. Participants were 496 college students (68% female, 32% male), aged 18–47 years (M = 20.79, SD = 2.96), recruited from a public university in Türkiye. Participants completed self-report measures assessing ACEs, ADHD symptoms, shame, and SWB. Results showed that individuals with higher ACEs reported significantly greater internal and external shame, more ADHD symptoms, and lower SWB. Internal shame–but not ADHD symptoms–significantly mediated the association between ACEs and SWB. External shame showed a weaker, marginally significant effect. ADHD symptoms did not significantly mediate the relationship between ACEs and shame. Findings highlight internal shame as a key psychological mechanism linking early adversity to lower subjective well-being.