ADHD and Academic Success in University Students: The Important Role of Impaired Attention

Abstract

Objective To improve on several methodological issues regarding current literature investigating the relationship between ADHD symptomatology and academic success in adults and examine the relative contributions of specific dimensions of ADHD symptomatology (i.e., inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity) to post-secondary academic success. Method A large sample of 3,688 post-secondary students were examined using a longitudinal design. The Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS) was used to assess adult ADHD symptoms and academic success was assessed using students’ official academic records (e.g., final GPAs and degree completion status). Results Students with greater inattention symptomatology at the start of their academic program showed consistently poorer long-term academic success (i.e., lower GPAs, higher dropout rates), regardless of gender. Conclusion Inattention symptoms are the primary driver of the relationship between ADHD symptomatology and academic underachievement in adults. Post-secondary education institutions should target and prioritize educational programming for inattention symptoms of ADHD in at-risk post-secondary students.

Impulsivity Mediates the Relationship between Sleep Quality and Interpersonal Functioning: A Cross-sectional Study in a Sample of University Students

“…Within the student population, a signi cant amount of literature has indicated the importance of sleep and proper attention in academic functioning and success e.g., 108,[109][110][111] . This is of particular concern given the levels of inappropriate sleep, in addition to its consequences on attention, reported both in the current study, as well as other contemporary research 13,112,113 , as addressed above.…”

Examining the structural equation modeling between intrinsic-motivation, emotion regulation and AHDH: the mediating role of problem-solving, time-management, and behavioral-inhibition

“…Additionally, since the university studentship period is a sensitive stage of entering a professional course in the life of an adult, which can be severely destroyed under the influence of ADHD by lower GPA scores or undertaking fewer study skills strategies thus gaining lower academic success (Henning et al, 2022 ) due to inattention of ADHD, the structural relationships of ADHD with important variables in the sample of university students with ADHD was considered. To this end, the present study aimed to address the following research question: Does behavioral inhibition, time management and problem solving mediate the relationship between emotion regulation and self-motivation with ADHD?…”

Reflections on being an academic with ADHD

“…In the early 2000s, after five years of full-time study, I finally graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in education studies, but my grades were inconsistent. diagnosis and treatment may benefit academic success (Henning et al, 2022) and a recent Aotearoa New Zealand study showed that ADHD severity may not be an indicator of academic success in children (Carrasco et al, 2022), which is encouraging.…”