Stress and burnout in university students with ADHD-like symptoms: The role of memory bias and daily stress

Q1 Social Sciences
Kerstin Erdal , Gordon Adami , Petra Gelléri , Jan Dettmers
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Adults with elevated symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) are at high risk for stress and burnout, involving negative academic and social outcomes. For university students with subclinical traits of ADHD the correlation between ADHD-like symptoms, stress and burnout so far is not well understood. Additionally, also their reaction to daily stress events in stressful times, such as exam times, has so far not received much attention.

Objective

This study examines effects of stressful events on university students during exam periods, with a focus on differences between those with elevated and those with low ADHD-symptoms. It aims to identify differences in stress experience, coping strategies, and burnout risk, and to investigate stress events on experience of daily stress and burnout.

Methods

149 university students who were also employed were screened for ADHD symptoms using a clinical screener and grouped into high versus low symptom categories. Participants first completed an online baseline survey assessing perceived stress, burnout, and coping styles, based on their experiences over the past three weeks. During a subsequent ten-day period coinciding with university exams, a potentially stressful time, they reported their daily experiences of stress, burnout, and stress-related events.

Results

At baseline (before exams), university students with elevated ADHD-symptoms showed significantly higher stress and burnout levels compared to their peers with low ADHD-symptoms, and they remembered significantly more stressful situations over the past month. Contrary to expectations, multi-level multi-group comparison revealed no significant difference between the groups regarding daily stress and burnout risk during the 10-day diary period during exam times.

Conclusions

Working university students with elevated ADHD-symptoms might be a vulnerable student group at risk for high chronic stress level and burnout risk. Negative memory bias, influenced by coping style, might feed into negative academic self-esteem among students with ADHD-symptoms and should be addressed in university counselling and healthcare.

Abstract Image

有adhd样症状的大学生的压力和倦怠:记忆偏差和日常压力的作用
背景注意缺陷多动障碍(ADHD)症状升高的成年人面临压力和倦怠的高风险,包括负面的学业和社会结果。对于具有ADHD亚临床特征的大学生来说,ADHD样症状、压力和倦怠之间的相关性迄今尚未得到很好的理解。此外,他们在紧张时期对日常压力事件的反应,比如考试时间,到目前为止还没有得到太多的关注。目的探讨考试期间压力事件对大学生注意力缺陷多动障碍症状的影响,重点研究注意力缺陷多动障碍症状高与低的大学生之间的差异。本研究旨在探讨压力体验、应对策略和倦怠风险的差异,并探讨压力事件对日常压力体验和倦怠的影响。方法使用临床筛查器对149名在职大学生进行ADHD症状筛查,并将其分为高症状和低症状两组。参与者首先根据过去三周的经历完成了一项在线基线调查,评估他们感知到的压力、倦怠和应对方式。在接下来的10天里,恰逢大学考试,这是一个潜在的压力时间,他们报告了他们每天的压力、倦怠和压力相关事件的经历。结果在考试前,adhd症状升高的大学生比adhd症状低的大学生表现出更高的压力和倦怠水平,并且他们在过去一个月里记住了更多的压力情况。与预期相反,多层次多组比较显示,在考试期间的10天日记期内,各组之间的日常压力和倦怠风险没有显著差异。结论在职大学生adhd症状加重可能是慢性应激水平高、倦怠风险高的弱势学生群体。受应对方式影响的消极记忆偏差,可能会在有adhd症状的学生中形成消极的学业自尊,这应该在大学咨询和医疗保健中得到解决。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
8.90
自引率
0.00%
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审稿时长
69 days
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