Sharanpreet Kaur, Josefa Canals-Sans, Paula Morales-Hidalgo, José A Alda, Victoria Arija
{"title":"Investigating the Association Between Heavy Metals and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children: An Exploratory Study.","authors":"Sharanpreet Kaur, Josefa Canals-Sans, Paula Morales-Hidalgo, José A Alda, Victoria Arija","doi":"10.1177/10870547251315276","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10870547251315276","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Exposure to heavy metals has been associated with affecting children's neurodevelopment, particularly increasing the risk of developing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The current exploratory study aims to investigate potential associations between presence of 15 different heavy metals in urine and ADHD. A total of 190 urine samples of participants from clinical and non-clinical population (non-ADHD = 66; ADHD = 124) aged between 6 and 15 years from Barcelona and Tarragona (Spain) were analysed. Logistic regressions adjusted by sex, age, SES, BMI and diet quality were performed. Highest quartiles (3rd and 4th) of Pb (lead) (aOR 5.33; CI [1.89, 14.98]), Cd (cadmium) (aOR 3.69, CI [1.38, 9.83]), Cu (copper) (aOR 16.46, CI [4.66, 58.14]) and Sb (antimony) (aOR 3.04, CI [1.12, 8.23]) were significantly associated with increased odds of ADHD DSM-5 diagnosis. Additionally, Cu and Cd were associated with higher scores of inattention symptoms. Whereas, Cu and Sb were associated with hyperactivity-impulsivity severity. This exploratory study provides preliminary valuable evidence, suggesting potential associations between environmental factors, such as metal exposure, with ADHD in school-aged children. These findings highlight the importance of further research to support these associations and, if confirmed, explore strategies to mitigate the potential impacts of these toxicants on children's health.</p>","PeriodicalId":15237,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Attention Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"423-436"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143065975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mallika Iyer, Adrian R Martineau, Polyna Khudyakov, Chuluun-Erdene Achtai, Tungalag Altan, Narankhuu Yansanjav, Ariunzaya Saranjav, Uyanga Buyanjargal, Davaasambuu Ganmaa
{"title":"Exploring Risk Factors for ADHD Among Children at a Mongolian Public School: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.","authors":"Mallika Iyer, Adrian R Martineau, Polyna Khudyakov, Chuluun-Erdene Achtai, Tungalag Altan, Narankhuu Yansanjav, Ariunzaya Saranjav, Uyanga Buyanjargal, Davaasambuu Ganmaa","doi":"10.1177/10870547251318485","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10870547251318485","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder with numerous hypothesized risk factors that have not yet been thoroughly investigated in many non-Western populations, including Mongolian schoolchildren. Exploring these risk factors could yield insight on which children are more likely to be impacted and on how risk differs across locations and cultures.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The aim of the study was to assess whether elevated scores reported by parents and teachers on the Conners-3 Assessment, a detailed survey tool used to assess ADHD symptoms, correspond with indicators of lower socioeconomic status.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a cross-sectional analysis involving 201 schoolchildren aged 8 to 13 attending a public school in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. We investigated associations between factors including student age, parental education level, family income, exposure to cigarette smoke, calcium intake and vitamin D status with Conners-3 scores for inattention, hyperactivity, and defiance/aggression. Cohen's <i>d</i> effect sizes and adjusted mean differences (aMD) for Conners-3 scores between groups were calculated using multivariable analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our findings revealed large effect sizes between different types of accommodation, a key indicator of socioeconomic status in modern Mongolia, and moderate effect sizes between different levels of parental education. Other findings included that engaging in over 2 hr of outdoor activity was independently associated with an increased inattention score (aMD 0.53, 95% CI [0.03, 1.03]) and increased hyperactivity score (aMD 0.63, 95% CI [0.10, 1.16]). A lower household income was independently associated with an increased inattention score (aMD 0.0005, 95% CI [0.000011, 0.001042]) and increased defiance/aggression score (aMD 0.0009, 95% CI [0.0004, 0.0015]). Factors such as calcium intake, Vitamin D level, exposure to cigarette smoke, and parental employment status did not yield significant associations.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>We found that Conners-3 scores indicating higher symptoms of ADHD among Mongolian schoolchildren were associated with lower household income and high outdoor activity, and should be further investigated in relation to type of accommodation.</p>","PeriodicalId":15237,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Attention Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"458-473"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143542074","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kaj Sparle Christensen, Ole Jakob Storebø, Bo Bach
{"title":"Assessing the Construct Validity of the Adult ADHD Self-report Scale for DSM-5 and Prevalence of ADHD in a Danish Population Sample.","authors":"Kaj Sparle Christensen, Ole Jakob Storebø, Bo Bach","doi":"10.1177/10870547241312575","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10870547241312575","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study examines the validity of the ASRS-5 as a new screening tool for ADHD and evaluates its proposed screening cut-off in a general population context.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>A nationally representative sample of 2,002 individuals aged 18 to 80 years was surveyed using the ASRS-5, with complete data obtained from 714 participants. Psychometric analysis evaluated fit to the Rasch model, response categories, dimensionality, differential item functioning, local dependency, and reliability. A cut-off score of 14, based on a simple additive scale, was applied.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The ASRS-5 generally conformed to the expectations of the Rasch model. However, disordered response categories were observed for item 6, and gender-related differential item functioning was noted in items 3, 4, and 6. The ASRS-5 demonstrated a unidimensional construct, and a cut-off score of 14 identified 6.0% of the sample as potential ADHD cases.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Although the ASRS-5 aligns well with the Rasch model, certain measurement challenges exist. The recommended cut-off score effectively identifies an ADHD prevalence consistent with the 6.5% reported in the original ASRS-5 study.</p>","PeriodicalId":15237,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Attention Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"437-444"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143022961","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Irene Campos-Sánchez, Eva María Navarrete-Muñoz, Dries S Martens, Isolina Riaño-Galán, Aitana Lertxundi, Sabrina Llop, Mónica Guxens, Cristina Rodríguez-Dehli, Nerea Lertxundi, Raquel Soler-Blasco, Martine Vrijheid, Tim S Nawrot, John Wright, Tiffany C Yang, Rosie McEachan, Kristine Bjerve Gützkow, Vaia Lida Chatzi, Marina Vafeiadi, Mariza Kampouri, Regina Grazuleviciene, Sandra Andrusaityte, Johanna Lepeule, Desirée Valera-Gran
{"title":"Telomere Length and Symptoms of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder in Children at 6-12 Years.","authors":"Irene Campos-Sánchez, Eva María Navarrete-Muñoz, Dries S Martens, Isolina Riaño-Galán, Aitana Lertxundi, Sabrina Llop, Mónica Guxens, Cristina Rodríguez-Dehli, Nerea Lertxundi, Raquel Soler-Blasco, Martine Vrijheid, Tim S Nawrot, John Wright, Tiffany C Yang, Rosie McEachan, Kristine Bjerve Gützkow, Vaia Lida Chatzi, Marina Vafeiadi, Mariza Kampouri, Regina Grazuleviciene, Sandra Andrusaityte, Johanna Lepeule, Desirée Valera-Gran","doi":"10.1177/10870547251314923","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10870547251314923","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To explore the association between telomere length (TL) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children at 6-12 years.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Data from 1,759 children belonging to the HELIX project cohorts and the Asturias, Gipuzkoa and Valencia cohorts of INMA project were included. TL was determined by blood sample using a PCR protocol. ADHD symptoms were described by parents using the Conners' Parent Rating Scale-Revised: Short Form. Multiple negative binomial regression models adjusted for potential confounders were used to estimate associations.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Overall estimates showed no associations between TL and ADHD symptoms. However, we observed that a longer TL was significantly associated with a lower risk of presenting hyperactivity symptoms in children belonging to the HELIX project (IRR = 0.93, 95% CI [0.87, 0.99]; <i>p</i> = .022).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>While our study did not find a consistent association between TL and ADHD symptoms across all cohorts, the significant association found within the HELIX cohort suggests that longer TL may be linked to a lower risk of hyperactivity symptoms. Further research is needed to explore this association in more detail.</p>","PeriodicalId":15237,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Attention Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"474-485"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143059267","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Liv Smets, Finja Marten, Lena Keuppens, Dieter Baeyens, Bianca E Boyer, Saskia Van der Oord
{"title":"Exploring the Association Between ADHD, Sleep, and Homework Problems: The Role of Behavioral Indicators of Neuropsychological Functioning.","authors":"Liv Smets, Finja Marten, Lena Keuppens, Dieter Baeyens, Bianca E Boyer, Saskia Van der Oord","doi":"10.1177/10870547251329772","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10870547251329772","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Around 70% of adolescents with ADHD experience sleep and/or homework problems. Both impairments have been previously associated with neuropsychological deficits but have not been simultaneously examined in adolescents with ADHD and clinical sleep problems. Therefore, this study investigated how sleep problems are associated with homework problems and how parent-rated behavioral indicators of neuropsychological functioning are part of this association in adolescents with ADHD.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Parental ratings of homework problems (HPC) and behavioral indicators of neuropsychological functioning (CAMEL) of adolescents with ADHD and comorbid sleep problems (ADHD/sleep; <i>n</i> = 53), adolescents with ADHD only (<i>n</i> = 24), and neurotypical adolescents (NT; <i>n</i> = 53) were collected. Homework problems and behavioral indicators of neuropsychological functioning were compared between the three groups. A path analysis was performed to investigate whether the behavioral indicators of neuropsychological functioning are part of the relation between sleep problems in ADHD and homework problems.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We found no differences for either homework problems or behavioral indicators of neuropsychological functioning between the ADHD/sleep and ADHD only groups, except for a small significant difference in arousal regulation, but both ADHD groups showed more homework problems and behavioral indicators of weaker neuropsychological functioning compared to the NT group. Behavioral indicators of weaker neuropsychological functioning were related to the increased homework problems experienced in the ADHD/sleep and ADHD only groups compared to NT.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In adolescents with ADHD, sleep problems were not associated with more homework problems by weaker behavioral indicators of neuropsychological functioning. However, regardless of sleep problems, the behavioral indicators of neuropsychological functioning relate to the homework problems in adolescents with ADHD.</p>","PeriodicalId":15237,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Attention Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"10870547251329772"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143752876","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Patrick K Goh, Da Eun Suh, Ashlyn W W A Wong, Elizabeth A Bodalski, Will H Canu
{"title":"Extending the ADHD Phenotype and Parsing Heterogeneity Via Emotional Dysregulation and Personality: A Latent Profile Analysis in College Students.","authors":"Patrick K Goh, Da Eun Suh, Ashlyn W W A Wong, Elizabeth A Bodalski, Will H Canu","doi":"10.1177/10870547251326676","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10870547251326676","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Past work has provided support for the relevance of personality traits and emotional dysregulation (ED), individually, for characterizing ADHD phenotypes beyond symptoms in college-aged populations. Yet, no studies have attempted to integrate these constructs into current ADHD conceptualizations within the context of one another. The current study thus sought to determine whether personality traits and ED dimensions, together, could facilitate meaningful differentiation of college students meeting symptom and impairment criteria for ADHD.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Participants included 1,858 college students aged 18 to 29 years (<i>M</i> = 19.4 years, 70.4% female) with either self-reported ADHD diagnoses and/or clinical levels of symptoms and impairment.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Latent profile analyses provided support for a three-profile solution comprised of a Primarily Inattentive/ED Present/Emotionally Unstable profile, a Moderate ADHD Severity/ED Absent/Normative Personality Traits profile, and a High ADHD Severity/ED Absent/Normative Personality Traits profile. Consideration of ED dimensions and personality traits, namely Emotional Stability, meaningfully enriched profiles beyond ADHD sum scores. Concurrent validation of profiles suggested significant differences with respect to impairment domains and internalizing problems.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Additional work is needed to characterize the integration of personality and ED into ADHD conceptualizations to inform more comprehensive assessment and treatment practices.</p>","PeriodicalId":15237,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Attention Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"10870547251326676"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143719381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Association Between Internal Restlessness, Drinking Motives, and Alcohol Use Outcomes in College Students.","authors":"Anna L Sherman, Amy L Stamates, Lisa Weyandt","doi":"10.1177/10870547251330038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10870547251330038","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>ADHD and alcohol use are prevalent among college students, but few studies have examined internal restlessness (i.e., the mental discomfort experienced when suppressing hyperactive behaviors) in relation to alcohol use. Consequently, the current study sought to examine a path model testing associations between internal restlessness, drinking motives (i.e., coping, social, enhancement, and conformity), alcohol use, and consequences in college students.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Two hundred and ninety-one college students completed an online survey regarding their use of alcohol.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>After controlling for ADHD diagnosis, there were significant positive associations between internal restlessness and coping (<i>B</i> = 0.025, <i>p</i> = .004), socializing (<i>B</i> = 0.026, <i>p</i> = .004), enhancement (<i>B</i> = 0.038, <i>p</i> < .001), and conformity (<i>B</i> = 0.026, <i>p</i> < .001). Two significant indirect effects were found for the association between internal restlessness and consequences through enhancement (95% CI [0.001, 0.009]) and coping (95% CI [0.000, 0.011]) motives and alcohol use, respectively. All other indirect pathways were nonsignificant.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Findings revealed that internal restlessness was associated with the four drinking motives; however, greater internal restlessness was related to more alcohol consequences to the extent that they also reported strong coping and enhancement motives. Findings can be used to tailor intervention and prevention efforts to target emotional regulation and to reduce risk for college students who experience internal restlessness.</p>","PeriodicalId":15237,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Attention Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"10870547251330038"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143719383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Implications of Co-occurrence Between ADHD and Anxiety in a Community-based Child Sample.","authors":"Sonia Tremblay, Erik G Willcutt","doi":"10.1177/10870547251324806","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10870547251324806","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>The current study aimed to elucidate characteristics of co-occurring ADHD and anxiety in a community-based sample of children. Previous work has highlighted the prevalence and associated impairment of each condition alone, but less research has focused on the co-occurrence of these disorders.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>The present study first sought to examine the prevalence of this co-occurrence in a sample of 2,257 school-age children. The study also compared academic, social, and adaptive impairment among children with ADHD alone, anxiety alone, both ADHD and anxiety, or neither condition. Lastly, the study explored sex differences in the prevalence of co-occurring ADHD and anxiety and their associated impairment.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Results supported previous findings surrounding prevalence of the co-occurrence, as children with ADHD were over twice as likely to exhibit elevated anxiety than children without ADHD. While ADHD was more common in boys, among all children with ADHD more girls displayed co-occurring anxiety. Both ADHD and anxiety were associated with impairment in nearly all domains of functioning, but children with both conditions broadly displayed the most functional impairment.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Results of the current study underscore the clinical relevance of the co-occurrence between ADHD and anxiety in children and suggest that future research is warranted to further investigate this phenomenon.</p>","PeriodicalId":15237,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Attention Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"10870547251324806"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143700459","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sleep Disturbances, ADHD, and Self-Harm Among Youth.","authors":"Songül Derin, Idil Altintas, Saliha B Selman","doi":"10.1177/10870547251327479","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10870547251327479","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Previous studies have linked ADHD with self-harm, but the processes underlying this association are not fully understood. This research aims to investigate the role of sleep disturbances as a potential pathway between ADHD diagnosis and self-harm behaviors.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>The study included 90 youth aged between 11 and 18 years, divided into two groups: a case group of 45 youth diagnosed with ADHD and a control group of 45 youth without ADHD. Both groups completed the Inventory of Statements About Self-Injury to evaluate self-harm behaviors and the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children to assess sleep disturbances. A path analysis was conducted to examine whether a significant proportion of the association between ADHD and self-harm was shared with sleep disturbances, while controlling for gender, youth education, family income, maternal education, and overall anxiety and depression scores.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>An ADHD diagnosis was significantly associated with sleep disturbances (β = .62, <i>p</i> < .001) and self-harm behaviors (β = .35, <i>p</i> = .03). Additionally, sleep disturbances were significantly linked to self-harm (β = .51, <i>p</i> = .002) and played a significant role in the association between ADHD and self-harm (indirect effect β = .32, <i>p</i> = .001).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These findings suggest that sleep disturbances account for a substantial proportion of the shared variance in the association between ADHD and self-harm. While the cross-sectional design limits causal interpretations, these results highlight the importance of addressing sleep issues in clinical care for ADHD to potentially reduce self-harm risks and improve outcomes for at-risk youth.</p>","PeriodicalId":15237,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Attention Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"10870547251327479"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143656959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nawal Mohamad, Kim-Louise Rousseau, Fatimah Dowlut, Milton Gering, Kevin G F Thomas
{"title":"Symptoms of ADHD and Other Common Mental Disorders Influence Academic Success in South African Undergraduates.","authors":"Nawal Mohamad, Kim-Louise Rousseau, Fatimah Dowlut, Milton Gering, Kevin G F Thomas","doi":"10.1177/10870547241310659","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10870547241310659","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>ADHD symptoms are highly prevalent among university students. These symptoms, particularly the inattentive cluster, predispose students to poorer academic performance and worse academic adjustment. Moreover, ADHD symptoms are often comorbid with other common mental disorders; this comorbidity also leads to poor outcomes. South African students often have fewer resources to successfully transition to university. Hence, our longitudinal study used data from a sample of South African first-year undergraduate students to investigate (a) associations between ADHD symptoms and academic performance/adjustment, (b) separate influences of the inattentive and hyperactivity-impulsivity clusters on academic performance/adjustment, and (c) the influence of the combination of ADHD and psychiatric comorbidities on academic performance/adjustment.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>We collected data three times through the first semester of 2023. Predictors within our regression models included sociodemographic variables, psychological variables (self-reported symptoms of ADHD, depression, anxiety, and risky alcohol use), and high school academic performance. Outcomes were first-semester GPA and self-reported academic adjustment (magnitude of change across the semester and overall adjustment at the end of the semester).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Analyses showed that, unlike academic performance (<i>N</i> = 506), magnitude of change in academic adjustment (<i>N</i> = 180) was significantly predicted by ADHD symptoms and the combination of ADHD (<i>p</i> = .02), depression (<i>p</i> < .001), and anxiety symptoms (<i>p</i> = .01). Inattentive ADHD symptoms predicted both academic performance and magnitude of change in academic adjustment.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings suggest that the presence of ADHD symptoms (both with and without other common mental disorders) is associated with a smaller magnitude of academic adjustment, and that the presence of inattentive symptoms of ADHD is associated with both poorer academic performance and smaller magnitude of academic adjustment. These findings are significant in informing future interventions targeting the academic outcomes of first-year university students.</p>","PeriodicalId":15237,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Attention Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"363-386"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11800717/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143005471","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}