The effects of ADHD symptomatology and academic enabling behaviours on undergraduate academic achievement

Abstract University students demonstrating higher levels of Attention‐Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptom severity largely experience lower academic achievement. Educational research has found that a group of behaviours (i.e., study skills, interpersonal skills, engagement, and motivation) known as academic enablers (AE) facilitate positive outcomes within a classroom‐based learning environment. The current study recruited 617 undergraduate students to explore whether ADHD symptomatology and AE emerge as significant predictors of academic achievement at the university level, and whether demonstration of AE contribute to predicting achievement above and beyond that of ADHD effects. Results from simple linear regression analysis indicated that higher ADHD symptom severity predicted poorer academic achievement. Greater application of AE—excluding interpersonal skills—predicted greater academic achievement among university students. Exploratory results from hierarchical linear regression analysis suggested that demonstration of engagement, motivation, and especially study skills contribute towards predicting greater academic achievement while controlling for negative effects from ADHD symptom presentation. These findings imply that undergraduate academic outcomes can potentially be improved for students struggling with more severe ADHD symptom presentation if more emphasis is placed by universities to promote academic enabling behaviours within the educational framework and environment.