This paper reviews the relationship between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and academic performance. First, the relationship at different developmental stages is examined, focusing on pre-schoolers, children, adolescents and adults. Second, the review examines the factors underpinning the relationship between ADHD and academic underperformance: the literature suggests that it is the symptoms of ADHD and underlying cognitive deficits not co-morbid conduct problems that are at the root of academic impairment. The review concludes with an overview of the literature examining strategies that are directed towards remediating the academic impairment of individuals with ADHD.

Less is understood about the relationship between ADHD symptoms and academic performance in adolescents than the relationship in younger children. As such, the aim of the present study was to investigate the prospective relationship between ADHD symptoms and academic performance in a community adolescent sample. Three hundred and twenty-four participants, aged 15 and 16, in their final year of compulsory education, completed measures of ADHD, anxiety, depression, and motivation, and a test of general cognitive ability. Participants were also asked for permission for their academic grades to be viewed on a later occasion (approximately 6 months later). In regression analyses, ADHD symptoms were the most significant independent psychopathological predictor of academic performance, and were almost as significant as motivation and cognitive ability. The results suggest that adolescents with more ADHD symptoms are likely to encounter greater academic difficulties.

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Children’s peer relationships are crucial for their social-emotional development, mental and physical health. To identify effective strategies to facilitate peer relationships among 8–14-year-olds, a systematic review of intervention programs was conducted. Electronic databases ERIC, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Collection Library and grey literature sources were searched for intervention studies with general or clinical populations published between 2000 and 2020. Interventions had to assess quantity or quality of peer relationships as an outcome measure, thus focusing on helping children to establish more positive relationships or improving their self-reported relationship quality. Sixty-five papers were identified and grouped into universal prevention programs, selective interventions for typically developing children and indicated interventions for children with clinical diagnosis. Prevention programs and interventions for typically developing children facilitated peer relationships by targeting mental wellbeing and self-concepts. Clinical interventions focused on social-emotional skills, symptoms and peer behaviors. Successful programs showed a close alignment of methods and targeted program effects. Practitioners should also be aware of realistic goals for each population. Programs for a general population showed potential to decrease loneliness, whereas clinical populations achieved high increases in play dates, peer acceptance and sociometric status.

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