GENDER AS MODERATOR AND AGE AS MEDIATOR VARIABLES IN PREDICTION OF SCHOOL ADJUSTMENT BY SELF-EVALUTED SYMPTOMS OF ADHD

Abstract

The aim of the research was to examine the moderating role of gender and the mediating role of age in predicting the school adjustment by self-evaluating the symptoms of ADHD. The study included 501 students from higher grades of primary school, out of which 50.7% were boys, and the average age was 12.72. They completed Hyperactivity-impulsivity-attention Scale, Self-efficacy Questionnaire for Children, and were given some general information. Research showed that gender had only main effect on the school success, meaning that being female predicted a better school success. Age had completely mediating role for symptoms of hyperactivity and a school success (i.e., as the students’ age increases, there is no correlation between hyperactivity and the school success), and a partial mediating role for symptoms of inattention and both measures of school adjustment (i.e., as the students’ age increases the correlation among symptoms of inattention and academic self-efficacy and school success become weaker).