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.