Finding 'I' in University: Effects of Psychosocial Intervention on Undergraduates with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Symptoms
Date
2020-01-28
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are less likely to use academic coping strategies effectively (DuPaul et al., 2009; Kaminski et al., 2006) and less likely to graduate from college (Barkley et al., 2008; Kuriyan et al., 2013). Given that students’ sense of belonging to their college is associated with academic persistence/student retention (Hausmann et al., 2007; Morrow & Ackermann, 2012; O’Keeffe, 2013; Tinto, 1999), the current study sought to investigate the effects of a six-week group psychosocial intervention, adapted from an adult ADHD cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) manual (Safren et al., 2005) on two forms of problem-focused coping (planning/self-management and seeking support from institutional resources) and five components of sense of belonging (perceived faculty support, perceived empathetic faculty understanding, classroom comfort, perceived peer support, and feelings of isolation) among undergraduate students with ADHD symptoms. An ancillary purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationships between these two problem-focused coping strategies and these five sense of belonging components among undergraduate students with ADHD symptoms. Results indicated that participants reported significantly heightened perceived peer support and significantly lessened feelings of isolation post-intervention. However, no significant differences were indicated on the remaining three sense of belonging components (perceived faculty support, perceived empathetic faculty understanding, and classroom comfort) or either of the problem-focused subscales (planning/self-management and seeking support from institutional resources). Moreover, no associations were found between problem-focused coping and sense of belonging. It was concluded that the group psychosocial intervention significantly improved perceived peer support and reduced feelings of isolation among undergraduates with ADHD symptoms. Implications and limitations of the current study as well as future directions for research are discussed.
Description
Keywords
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), undergraduate, university, college, students, sense of belonging, problem-focused coping, psychosocial intervention
Citation
Gordon, L. L. (2020). Finding 'I' in University: Effects of Psychosocial Intervention on Undergraduates with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Symptoms (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.