The DOI matches its Crossref record; 61 of the 61 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Living “in the zone”: hyperfocus in adult ADHD
Abstract
Adults with ADHD often report episodes of long-lasting, highly focused attention, a surprising report given their tendency to be distracted by irrelevant information. This has been colloquially termed "hyperfocus" (HF). Here, we introduce a novel assessment tool, the "Adult Hyperfocus Questionnaire" and test the preregistered a priori hypothesis that HF is more prevalent in individuals with high levels of ADHD symptomology. We assess (1) a pilot sample (n = 251) and (2) a replication sample (n = 372) of adults with or without ADHD. Participants completed highly validated scales, including the Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scale, to index ADHD symptomology. Those with higher ADHD symptomology reported higher total and dispositional HF and more frequent HF across each of the three settings (school, hobbies, and screen time) as well as on a fourth subscale describing real-world HF scenarios. These findings are both clinically and scientifically significant, as this is the first study to comprehensively assess HF in adults with high ADHD symptomology and to present a means for assessing HF. Moreover, the sizable prevalence of HF in adults with high levels of ADHD symptomology leads to a need to study it as a potentially separable feature of the ADHD syndrome.
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In the citing paper
“The term 'hyperfocus' (HF) has been used to characterise this state of heightened, focused attention that individuals with ADHD frequently report (Hupfeld et al., 2019).”
From Intensity and Variable Attention: Counter Narrating ADHD, from ADHD Deficits to ADHD Difference (2023) · cites this paper as Hupfeld et al., 2019
In the citing paper
“Hupfeld et al. (2019) notes that 'adults with ADHD often report episodes of long-lasting, highly focused attention'.”
From Intensity and Variable Attention: Counter Narrating ADHD, from ADHD Deficits to ADHD Difference (2023) · cites this paper as Hupfeld et al., 2019
In the citing paper
“Summarising previous research, Hupfeld et al. (2019) stress the multi-dimensional aspects of HF, that it includes engagement in certain tasks in certain environments, which raises similar questions over the role of environmental cues on ADHD behaviours, where 'only certain situations induce HF' (Hupfeld et al., 2019).”
From Intensity and Variable Attention: Counter Narrating ADHD, from ADHD Deficits to ADHD Difference (2023) · cites this paper as Hupfeld et al., 2019
In the citing paper
“Difficulty among people with ADHD to focus their attention on tasks that are not intrinsically rewarding (Hupfeld et al., 2019;Dodson, 2022), can be linked to the theory of Monotropism in an autistic context as an 'Interest Based Account of Autism' (Murray et al., 2005;Murray, 2019).”
From Intensity and Variable Attention: Counter Narrating ADHD, from ADHD Deficits to ADHD Difference (2023) · cites this paper as Hupfeld et al., 2019
Citations
Cites
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
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Kessler, R. C., Adler, L., Barkley, R., Biederman, J., Conners, C. K., Demler, O., Faraone, S. V., Greenhill, L. L., Howes, M. J., Secnik, K., et al. (2006) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.2006.163.4.716 · Cited by 3,886
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Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Conners C, Erhardt D, Sparrow E (1999) Adult ADHD rating scales: technical manual. Multi-Health Systems Inc, Toronto
- Leimkuhler ME (1994) Attention-deficit disorder in adults and adolescents: cognitive, behavioral, and personality styles. In: Ellison J, Weinstein C, Hodel-Malinofsky T (eds) The psychotherapists’ guide to neuropsychiatric patients: diagnostic and treatment issues. American Psychiatric Press, Washington, DC, pp 175–216
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Hyperfocus: the forgotten frontier of attention
Ashinoff, B. K., & Abu-Akel, A. M. (2019) · Psychological Research · doi:10.1007/s00426-019-01245-8 · Cited by 226
ADHD and Technology Research – Investigated by Neurodivergent Readers
Spiel, K., Hornecker, E., Williams, R. M., & Good, J. (2022) · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3491102.3517592 · Cited by 150
“For one, this seems to only consider distractability without acknowledging periods of intense focus during which people with ADHD find themselves so immersed in a given activity that we might even ignore bodily needs for as long as possible [82].”
Principles of cognitive control over task focus and task switching
Egner, T. (2023) · Nature Reviews Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44159-023-00234-4 · Cited by 161
“Rather, they can become extremely engrossed in some activities, a state known as hyperfocus 169 .”
BackgroundElsherif, M. M., Middleton, S. L., Phan, J. M., Azevedo, F., Iley, B. J., Grose-Hodge, M., Tyler, S. L., Kapp, S. K., Gourdon-Kanhukamwe, A., Grafton-Clarke, D., et al. (2022) · doi:10.31222/osf.io/k7a9p · Cited by 91
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in elite athletes: a narrative review
Han, D. H., Mcduff, D. R., Thompson, D., Hitchcock, M., Reardon, C. L., & Hainline, B. W. (2019) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsports-2019-100713 · Cited by 95
“(highly focus) on their own enjoyable activities without being distracted by regular life activities.(39) The ‘hyperfocus’ traits in”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Hupfeld, K. E., Abagis, T. R., & Shah, P.
- Affiliations
- University of Florida (US)
- University of Michigan (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hupfeld, Kathleen E.
- Venue
- ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders
- Published
- 2018-09-28
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 191-208
- ISSN
- 1866-6116 (ISSN-L)
- 1866-6647
- OpenAlex
- W2894319308
- Cited by
- 157
- References
- 61
- Citations by year
- 2026: 29 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 3
- FWCI
- 3.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- correction (2019-03-08)
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Institute of Education Sciences (R324A150023)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Mind wandering and attention
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Information Systems and Management › Personal Information Management and User Behavior
- Keywords
- hyperfocus, adult ADHD, attentional focus, distractibility, screen time, hobbies, school environment
- MeSH terms
- Attentional Bias, Adult, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Female, Humans, Male, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Case-Control Studies, Behavior, Addictive, Internet
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