September 2026: A new study by Han Fang, Teemu Toivainen, Corina Greven, and Martine Hoogman, published online in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, explores the relationship between childhood ADHD traits, writing-based creativity, and later well-being.
Creativity is often discussed as a potential strength associated with ADHD, and some studies in adults support a positive association. However, evidence in children remains limited, particularly for creativity assessed through completed creative products.
Using data from 1,170 children in the Twins Early Development Study, the researchers examined ADHD traits at age 8, creativity in written stories at age 9, and well-being at age 16.
The study found a small negative association between inattentiveness and writing-based creativity. Hyperactivity/impulsivity was not significantly associated with writing-based creativity. The researchers also found no evidence that this form of creativity buffered the association between childhood ADHD traits and lower well-being in adolescence.
These findings underline the importance of being specific when discussing creativity in ADHD. Performance on a written-story task does not capture the full range of creative abilities, and the results cannot be generalized to all forms of creativity or all developmental stages. A small association at the group level also does not determine an individual child’s creative strengths or potential.
Our group’s other (unpublished) qualitative studies in parents of children with ADHD and in teachers identify creativity associated with ADHD, therefore the current findings leave open the possibility of positive associations in other creative domains or at other developmental stages. They also raise questions about whether differences in creativity assessments might help explain the contrasting findings across studies of children and adults.
For our group, developing a balanced understanding of ADHD includes investigating where proposed strengths are supported by evidence and where the picture is more complex. This study highlights the need to examine different forms of creativity across development.
Building on these questions, Han is working on a systematic review and meta-analysis examining ADHD and different domains of creativity in children and adults. This work is not yet published, and we look forward to sharing the findings when they are available.
Read the open-access article:
“The relationship between product-based creativity and ADHD traits in children and the associations with later well-being”
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2026.106670
