OBJECTIVE: To investigate working memory (WM), academic achievement, and their relationship in university students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHOD: Participants were university students with previously confirmed diagnoses of ADHD (n = 16) and normal control (NC) students (n = 30). Participants completed 3 auditory-verbal WM measures, 2 visual-spatial WM measures, and 1 control executive function task. Also, they self-reported grade point averages (GPAs) based on university courses. RESULTS: The ADHD group displayed significant weaknesses on auditory-verbal WM tasks and 1 visual-spatial task. They also showed a nonsignificant trend for lower GPAs. Within the entire sample, there was a significant relationship between GPA and auditory-verbal WM. CONCLUSION: WM impairments are evident in a subgroup of the ADHD population attending university. WM abilities are linked with, and thus may compromise, academic attainment. Parents and physicians are advised to counsel university-bound students with ADHD to contact the university accessibility services to provide them with academic guidance.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Gropper et al. (2009) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: