Predicting Academic Adjustment, Quality of Teacher-Student Interaction, and Emotional Adjustment in Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention–Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is among the most frequent behavioral disorders in students. A factor influencing the improvement of parent–child interactions is Emotional Adjustment (EA). EA manifests with symptoms, such as the ability to control emotions and satisfy needs, relate well to others, and cope with failure. An effective component of students' education is Teacher–Student Interaction (TSI), i.e., among the strongest predictors of students' conflicts. Academic Adjustment (AA) also affects students’ mental health status. It is important to address students' behavioral disorders as the future builders of society, especially those with ADHD. Besides, there is insufficient information concerning the relationship between AA, quality of TSI, and EA in students with ADHD. Thus, the present study aimed to predict AA, the quality of TSI, and EA in students with ADHD based on the symptoms of ADHD.

The statistical population of the current descriptive–correlational study included all students with ADHD referring to educational counseling centers in Tehran City, Iran, in 2019. Of them, 280 students were chosen by the convenience sampling method as the research sample. The inclusion criteria of the study were being an elementary schooler, obtaining a score of effort required, referring to counseling centers by the teacher or school principals, and having a normal Intelligence Quotient (IQ). The exclusion criteria of the study were >13 and <7 years of age; referrals to counseling centers by parents, and failure to complete the consent form for participation in the research. The following tools were used to collect the necessary data in this study: the Children Symptom Inventory–4 Questionnaire (Sprafkin & Gadow, 1994), the Inventory of Teacher–Student Relationships (Murray & Zvoch, 2010), and the Emotional, Social Wellbeing and Academic Adjustment Scale (Squington, 1990). Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis were used to analyze the obtained data in SPSS.

All components of ADHD (ADHD, impulsivity disorder) presented a significant negative correlation with AA in the studied students (p<0.001). Furthermore, the impulsive subcomponent indicated the highest (r=–0.54), and the attention deficit subcomponent presented the lowest (r=–0.31) correlation coefficient with AA. The subcomponents of attention deficit, hyperactivity, and impulsivity were significantly and negatively correlated with the quality of TSI (p<0.001). Besides, the subcomponent of attention deficit revealed the highest (r=0.46) and the impulsive subcomponent suggested the lowest (r=–0.34) correlation coefficient with the quality of TSI. Additionally, the components of attention deficit, hyperactivity, and impulsivity were significantly and negatively associated with EA (p<0.001). The subcomponents of attention deficit and impulsivity demonstrated a higher correlation coefficient (r=–0.45) and the hyperactivity subcomponent presented a lower correlation coefficient (r=–0.40) with EA. The results of multivariate regression analysis suggested that attention deficit (B=–0.227, t=–0.04, p=0.042), hyperactivity (B=–0.63, t=–3.97, p<0.001), and impulsivity (B=–1.03, t=8,67, p<0.001) could negatively and significantly predict AA. These variables explained 35% of the variance of the academic adjustment score (R2=0.35). Moreover, attention deficit (B=–0.58, t=6.41, p<0.001), hyperactivity (B=0.40, t=3.74, p<0.001), and impulsivity (B=0.25, t=3.16, p=0.002) could negatively and significantly predict the quality of TSI. These variables explained 29% of the variance of the quality score of TSI (R2=0.29). Besides, attention deficit (B=–0.76, t=–54–5, p<0.001), hyperactivity (B=–0.74, t=–450, p<0.001), and impulsivity (B=0.69, t=5.68, p<0.001) could negatively and significantly predict EA. These variables explained 35% of the variance of the EA score (R2=0.35).

According to the present study results, the symptoms of ADHD were predictive of AA, TSI quality, and EA in the explored students with ADHD. Considering the effects of the predicting variables, education experts must pay attention to the symptoms of ADHD concerning education.