Inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and academic competence: Findings from three cohorts

Tony Xing Tan; Yanhong Liu; Victoria Damjanovic; Elyse Ledford; Gen Li; Yanzheng Li

doi:10.1111/bjep.12439

Inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and academic competence: Findings from three cohorts

Br J Educ Psychol. 2022 Mar;92(1):82-104. doi: 10.1111/bjep.12439. Epub 2021 Jun 29.

Authors

Tony Xing Tan¹, Yanhong Liu², Victoria Damjanovic³, Elyse Ledford³, Gen Li¹, Yanzheng Li⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Educational and Psychological Studies, College of Education, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA.
² Department of Counseling & Human Services, School of Education, Syracuse University, New York, USA.
³ Department of Teaching and Learning, College of Education, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA.
⁴ Department of Sociology, College of Humanities and Laws, Hebei University of Science and Technology, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.

PMID: 34184249
DOI: 10.1111/bjep.12439

Abstract

Background: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a risk for learning. Because ADHD commonly includes behaviours of inattention and behaviours of hyperactivity/impulsivity, how the two types of behaviours independently affect children's academic competence remains poorly understood.

Aims: To investigate the impact of behaviours of inattention and behaviours of hyperactivity/impulsivity on Chinese students' academic competence.

Samples: Parents of 167 preschoolers (Cohort 1), parents of 313 first graders (Cohort 2), and 1,003 high school students (Cohort 3).

Methods: The ADHD-RS-IV Preschool version (Cohort 1), ADHD-RS-IV Home version (Cohort 2), and BASC-SRP (Cohort 3) were used to measure behaviours of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. Academic competence was operationalized as school readiness (Cohort 1), math and language arts scores at two time points provided by school (Cohort 2), and self-reported academic performance (Cohort 3). Multiple regressions were performed to investigate the relationship between academic performance and behaviours of inattention alone (Step 1), and behaviours of hyperactivity/impulsivity alone (Step 2), and behaviours of inattention together with behaviours of hyperactivity/impulsivity (Step 3).

Results: For each cohort, both types of behaviours were negatively correlated with academic competence. However, regression analyses showed that in Step 3, behaviours of hyperactivity/impulsivity either failed to predict academic competence or predicted better academic competence. Overall, behaviours of inattention alone accounted for a similar amount of variance in academic competence as did behaviours of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity combined.

Conclusions: Behaviours of inattention presented a risk for academic competence but the effect of behaviours of hyperactivity/impulsivity varied. Implications for instructional strategies for behaviours of inattention were discussed.

Keywords: Chinese children; academic competence; attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; hyperactivity/impulsivity; inattention; language arts; math; school readiness.

MeSH terms

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity*
Child
Child, Preschool
Cohort Studies
Humans
Impulsive Behavior
Parents
Students