Basic Psychological Needs of Undergraduate Students with and without High ADHD Symptomatology

Abstract

It is well-established in research that students who experience attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology experience academic difficulties. Despite an influx of research on this population, there is still an opportunity to improve the relevant supports and resources necessary to facilitate academic success. The current study examined whether post-secondary students with high (ADHD) symptomatology perceived their classrooms as less autonomysupportive than post-secondary students without high levels of ADHD symptomatology. A casecontrol design was used for this study. Participants were undergraduate students with high levels of ADHD symptomatology (n = 49) and without (n = 39) from a large Canadian university. A multivariate Hotelling T 2 test was used to compare groups on their self-reported perceptions of basic psychological needs (BPN). College students with high ADHD symptomatology reported less relatedness at school (d = 0.69), but greater levels of competence (d = 0.70). Students with high ADHD symptomatology in this study reported significantly more negative relationships at school than students without high ADHD symptomatology. However, those with high ADHD symptomatology in this sample may represent a higher functioning subset of individuals with high ADHD symptomatology. The results of this study suggest additional avenues that can be explored to develop and implement evidence-based academic resources that can provide students with high ADHD symptomatology relevant skills.

Reflections on being an academic with ADHD

“…Although others saw potential in me, I only obtained School Certificate in English and a Sixth Form Certificate in English upon completing high school. Adults with ADHD may exhibit attention, executive function, and cognitive impairments (Boonstra et al, 2010;Fuermaier et al, 2015Fuermaier et al, , 2022Onandia-Hinchado et al, 2021;Torgalsbøen et al, 2021;Tucha et al, 2017) which may negatively impact on educational achievement (Oram et al, 2023). While I aspired to attend university, I lacked the necessary qualifications for admission.…”