Julia Merkt1, Caterina Gawrilow2. 1. German Institute for International Educational Research (DIPF), Frankfurt, Germany merkt@dipf.de. 2. German Institute for International Educational Research (DIPF), Frankfurt, Germany Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Germany.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to investigate aspects of health and motivation in a subpopulation of college students with ADHD. METHOD: Seventy-seven college students with self-reported ADHD (49 women; M age = 25.82, SD = 4.62) and 120 college students without ADHD (65 women; M age = 25.17, SD = 5.41) participated in an online survey assessing their health, dietary habits, and achievement motivation. RESULTS: College students with ADHD showed impairment in psychological functioning, impairment in their mental health, and reported more ambition and less self-control. Furthermore, we found gender differences: Women with ADHD reported worse psychological functioning, and the gender differences in obsessive-compulsive behavior and compensatory effort were mediated by the timing of diagnosis. CONCLUSION: College students, especially women, with ADHD struggle with health-related issues. Some of these gender differences might be due to under diagnosis of girls in childhood. Differences in achievement motivation might indicate compensatory mechanisms.
OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to investigate aspects of health and motivation in a subpopulation of college students with ADHD. METHOD: Seventy-seven college students with self-reported ADHD (49 women; M age = 25.82, SD = 4.62) and 120 college students without ADHD (65 women; M age = 25.17, SD = 5.41) participated in an online survey assessing their health, dietary habits, and achievement motivation. RESULTS: College students with ADHD showed impairment in psychological functioning, impairment in their mental health, and reported more ambition and less self-control. Furthermore, we found gender differences: Women with ADHD reported worse psychological functioning, and the gender differences in obsessive-compulsive behavior and compensatory effort were mediated by the timing of diagnosis. CONCLUSION: College students, especially women, with ADHD struggle with health-related issues. Some of these gender differences might be due to under diagnosis of girls in childhood. Differences in achievement motivation might indicate compensatory mechanisms.
Authors: Chelsey R Wilks; Randy P Auerbach; Jordi Alonso; Corina Benjet; Ronny Bruffaerts; Pim Cuijpers; David D Ebert; Jennifer G Green; Claude A Mellins; Philippe Mortier; Ekaterina Sadikova; Nancy A Sampson; Ronald C Kessler Journal: J Psychiatr Res Date: 2020-01-29 Impact factor: 4.791