Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Underlying Deficits in Achievement Motivation

This South African study aims at contributing to the debate regarding the processes underlying the core deficits of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by investigating the motivational factors underlying the symptoms of ADHD. It investigates the difference between adolescents with ADHD (combined type) and adolescents without ADHD regarding their achievement motivation. The results add to previous knowledge regarding the motivational deficits demonstrated by ADHD children and provide a valuable insight into their achievement motivational patterns, especially regarding negative fear of failure and the motive to achieve. Recommendations are suggested regarding educational and therapeutic strategies to improve the ADHD child's motivation at home and at school.     

Peer victimization in children with Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

This study explored peer victimization in 9‐ to 14‐year‐old children with and without Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The sample comprised 104 children, 52 of whom had a previous ADHD diagnosis. Children with ADHD had higher overall rates of self‐reported victimization by peers and parent‐ and teacher‐reported bullying behavior than did children without ADHD. The rates of victimization were especially high for girls with ADHD. Furthermore, children with ADHD reported higher frequencies of verbal, physical, and relational victimization than did children without ADHD. When data were pooled from children, parents, and teachers, children with ADHD were categorized as victims, bullies, and bully/victims significantly more often than were children without ADHD. Parent ratings of ADHD symptoms predicted self‐reported victimization by peers. Neither parent‐rated anxious‐shy behaviors nor parent‐ and teacher‐rated social skills predicted victimization by peers over and above ADHD symptoms. Parent ratings of oppositional behavior mediated the relationship between ADHD symptoms and parent‐ and teacher‐rated bullying. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Recognizing and Treating Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in College Students

Traditionally diagnosed in children, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is now regarded as a life span condition. The academic difficulties experienced by children and adolescents with ADHD have been observed to continue into young adulthood. Treatment outcome studies demonstrate that behavioral and pharmacotherapeutic interventions can be beneficial in improving ADHD symptoms such as inattention, and so facilitate academic performance in young adults with ADHD. This review discusses how ADHD leads to academic underperformance, the warning signs of undiagnosed ADHD, and the potential impact interventions can have on adult academic impairment.     

Peer assessment as collaborative learning: A cognitive perspective

Peer assessment is an important component of a more participatory culture of learning. The articles collected in this special issue constitute a representative kaleidoscope of current research on peer assessment. In this commentary, we argue that research on peer assessment is currently in a stage of adolescence, grappling with the developmental tasks of identity formation and affiliation. Identity formation may be achieved by efforts towards a shared terminology and joint theory building, whereas affiliation may be reached by a more systematic consideration of research in related fields. To reach identity formation and affiliation, preliminary ideas for a cognitively toned, process-related model of peer assessment and links to related research fields, especially to research on collaborative learning, are presented.     

Longitudinal Study of Reading Disability and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Implications for Education

ABSTRACT— The majority of children who receive special education services meet criteria for reading disability (RD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but additional research is needed to understand the long-term academic outcome of children in these groups. Individuals with RD only ( N = 71), ADHD only ( N = 66), both RD and ADHD ( N = 51), or neither disorder ( N = 118) were identified through the ongoing Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center twin study and retested 5 years later. Results of the follow-up testing indicated that, in addition to ongoing reading difficulties, individuals with RD exhibited higher rates of academic difficulties, depression, and adolescent-onset conduct disorder. Initial ADHD status was associated with academic and social difficulties and elevated rates of nearly all comorbid disorders 5 years later. The group with comorbid RD and ADHD had more stable reading deficits than the group with RD without ADHD and exhibited greater impairment than groups with either disorder alone on outcome measures of academic functioning and social difficulties. These results suggest that individuals with both RD and ADHD are at increased risk for negative outcomes as adolescents and young adults and that when RD and ADHD co-occur, interventions should be provided for both disorders.     

A Weak Association between Traits of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Gambling in College Students

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been characterized as a comorbidity to pathological gambling (PG). However, contradictory evidence has emerged, and it has not been established whether nonimpulsive features of ADHD (e.g., inattention, hyperactivity) contribute to PG risk, or how robust this relationship is in college samples. Using data from 224 college students, multiple regression analyses examined the association between ADHD traits and gambling. A marginal link between impulsivity and gambling emerged, but only in males; hyperactivity and inattention were unrelated to gambling. Therefore, caution should be used in attributing risk for PG to college students with ADHD traits, particularly inattention and hyperactivity.     

Contributions of Maternal Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity and Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms to Parenting

Objective. The goal of the current study was to examine the impact of maternal attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms on several dimensions of parenting. Design. One-hundred seven mothers of young adolescents provided ratings of their own attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, depressive symptoms, and parenting behavior, as well as their adolescents’ aggressive behaviors. Results. Hierarchical regression analyses examined the relative contributions of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms to parenting. Greater levels of maternal attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptomatology were associated with poorer monitoring, whereas more oppositional defiant disorder symptoms were associated with lower levels of parenting involvement and positive reinforcement and higher levels of overreactivity and use of corporal punishment. Conclusions. Maternal oppositional defiant disorder behaviors were particularly associated with negative, affective dimensions of parenting. Understanding the impact of maternal attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms on parenting may require consideration of concomitant maternal oppositional defiant disorder symptoms.     

Parenting Stress and Youth Symptoms Among Girls With and Without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Objective. To examine the aspects of parenting stress—parental distress and parental stress due to dysfunctional interactions—reported by mothers of girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in both childhood and adolescence and to understand their associations with internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescence. Design. The diverse sample comprised 120 girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and 81 age- and ethnicity-matched comparison girls, evaluated at ages 6–12 years and followed prospectively for 5 years. Basic demographics, oppositionality, childhood behavioral outcomes and symptoms, and key parenting practice were covaried in the analyses. Results. Longitudinally, parental distress during the participants’ childhood was positively associated with adolescent externalizing and internalizing behaviors, even when statistically controlling for parallel childhood behaviors. Parental stress due to dysfunctional interactions during adolescence was associated with contemporaneous adolescent depressive symptoms and externalizing behaviors, but parental distress was associated with only internalizing behaviors. With respect to moderation by diagnostic group, parental stress due to dysfunctional interactions (in childhood) was associated with adolescent internalizing symptoms only in girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. However, associations between parental distress in childhood and internalizing behaviors were stronger in the comparison than the ADHD sample. Conclusions. Minimizing early dysfunctional interactions might reduce internalizing behaviors in girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Interventions targeting parental distress may be beneficial for girls, regardless of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder status.     

Early identification and systemic educational intervention for young children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD)

This paper focuses on the international experience with early identification and intervention for children with AD/HD. Much less is known about AD/HD in two- to five-year-old preschool children than is known for older school-aged youngsters. Despite this lack of knowledge, AD/HD is increasingly recognized in this population and stimulant medication increasingly prescribed to treat it. The lack of control of temperamental patterns in preschoolers seems related to later observations of hyperactivity, attention problems and antisocial behaviours in school-aged children. The emergence and continuity of AD/HD-like behaviours is influenced not only by genetic, pre- and perinatal factors, but also by social context factors. All these influences interact with a child's developmental needs in complex ways according to a systemic bio-psychosocial model. The undiagnosed AD/HD child will often be labelled by parents as difficult and the family scapegoat. Because of the age of the children and the variety of ‘normal behaviour’ in this group, interventions should include systemic, environmental and play-centred approaches.     

Teacher and Student Teacher Ratings of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Three Cultural Settings

Since the criteria for diagnosis of childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) include that the symptoms present in at least two situations, usually home and school, the role of teachers in the identification and diagnosis of this condition is crucial. There is, however, evidence of inter-cultural differences in ratings of AD/HD in children and young people, by teachers and others, though it is not possible to make comparisons between the various studies, because the conditions were not comparable. The focus of this article is the cultural influences on ratings of AD/HD-type behaviour. Evidence is presented of culturally related differences in such ratings, under conditions designed to ensure directly comparable conditions, involving teachers and student teachers from mainland China, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom. There was some evidence that the teachers from mainland China rated the behaviour of a "target" child, presented on video, higher on a number of items than either the teachers from Hong Kong or the United Kingdom. There was only limited evidence of differences between the ratings of teachers and student teachers within the same culture.     

Peer Status in Boys With and Without Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Predictions from Overt and Covert Antisocial Behavior, Social Isolation, and Authoritative Parenting Beliefs

Because of the centrality of peer relationship difficulties for children with attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), we investigated behavioral (overt and covert antisocial activity), internalizing (self-reports and observed social isolation), and familial (authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting beliefs) predictors of peer sociometric nominations among previously unfamiliar, ethnically diverse ADHD ( N=73 ) and comparison ( N=60 ) boys, aged 6–12 years. Authoritative maternal parenting beliefs and negatively weighted social isolation explained significant variance in positive peer regard; aggression, covert behavior, and authoritative parenting beliefs were the independent predictors of both negative peer status and peer social preference. We extended such predictions with statistical control of (1) child cognitive variables, (2) maternal psychopathology, and (3) ADHD boys, but authoritative parenting beliefs were stronger predictors in ADHD than in comparison youth. We discuss family-peer linkages regarding peer competence.     

Response Inhibition,Memory, and Attention in Boys with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Newly developed measures of response inhibition, verbal and non-verbal memory, and attention were applied to a sample of boys diagnosed with ADHD (n = 50; 14 predominantly inattentive type and 36 combined type) with no diagnosed comorbid conditions, who had received no stimulant medication for a minimum period of 20 hours prior to test administration. Performance was assessed relative to 50 individually age-matched control boys. Results revealed significant multivariate group differences on all three tests, supported by univariate effects on measures of verbal memory and attentional switching. In all cases, ADHD boys performed more poorly than the control boys. However, contrary to expectations, boys with ADHD made significantly fewer impulsive responses (false positives) on the specific measure of response, despite recording significantly more misses than the controls. Furthermore, no significant differences were observed according to ADHD subtype. The present research therefore demonstrates and more fully characterises the nature of the observed memory and attentional impairments in boys with ADHD and would appear to have clear implications for education and the further development of theory.     

Socio-emotional connections: identity,belonging and learning in online interactions. A literature review

This review focuses on three interconnected socio-emotional aspects of online learning: interaction, sense of community and identity formation. In the intangible social space of the virtual classroom, students come together to learn through dialogic, often asynchronous, exchanges. This creates distinctive learning environments where learning goals, interpersonal relationships and emotions are no less important because of their ‘virtualness’, and for which traditional face-to-face pedagogies are not neatly transferrable. The literature reveals consistent connections between interaction and sense of community. Yet identity, which plausibly and naturally emerges from any social interaction, is much less explored in online learning. While it is widely acknowledged that interaction increases the potential for knowledge-building, the literature indicates that this will be enhanced when opportunities encouraging students’ emergent identities are embedded into the curriculum. To encourage informed teaching strategies this review seeks to raise awareness and stimulate further exploration into a currently under-researched facet of online learning.     

Peer-Related Personal Experiences of Children with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder With and Without Comorbid Learning Disabilities

This research investigates the peer-related social functioning of 291 children (185 males, 106 females), aged from 8 years to 17 years and 8 months diagnosed with varying Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) subtypes (i.e., Predominantly Inattentive m I, Combined m C) with and without comorbid learning disabilities (LD). All were administered the Interpersonal Relationships Questionnaire which is comprised of six reliable and valid measures: Social Desirability, Interpersonal Difficulties, Social Self-Concept, Social Self-Confidence, Preference for Solitude, and Social Interaction Anxiety. Results revealed that neither Gender, Age, nor Social Desirability were significantly associated with children's self-reports. Pearson correlations demonstrated that the strength and magnitude of associations between self-reports of interpersonal relationships varied according to group status. With the exception of Preference for Solitude, analyses of variance revealed significant differences in self-reports by group, as related to the presence or absence of LD, particularly for the ADHD-C+LD compared to the ADHD-I+LD group. Psychoeducational and clinical implications for understanding the functional and discriminant significance of social impairment among children with varying ADHD subtypes with comorbid LD are discussed in light of these research findings.     

Cognitive functioning in children with and without Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder with and without comorbid learning disabilities

This study attempted to determine whether children with the combined subtype of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have impairments in cognitive functioning and motor skills. The specific effect of the comorbidity of learning disabilities (LD) was also investigated. A battery of cognitive tests was administered to 26 children with a clinical diagnosis of ADHD-combined subtype (ADHD/C), to 24 children with ADHD/C with a comorbid diagnosis of LD (ADHD/C+LD), and to 102 participants without disabilities, all between ages 7 and 10. The testing battery consisted of tasks assessing memory, visuospatial and verbal abilities, and fine motor skills. In general, the test results of children with ADHD/C were poorer than those of the control group but better than the results of children with a combined ADHD/C+LD diagnosis (with the exception of motor skills). The predictive accuracy of the testing battery tasks in children with ADHD/C and ADHD/C+LD was examined. The results of a standard procedure of discriminant function analyses revealed that the measures correctly classified 73.6% of the children.     

A review of the research literature on adult learning and employability

Because of rising life expectancy and declining birth rates, reducing early retirement and prolonging employees’ working lives have become major goals on social policy agendas. In this context, ensuring the adaptability and employability of the existing workforce has become an important issue. The aim of this article is to conduct a review of the most recent literature on employment outcomes of adult learning. The review covers literature published in English since 2010.