Assessing ADHD Symptoms among Young Adults in the University with the ASRS v1.1: Examining Associations with Social Anxiety and Self-Efficacy

ABSTRACT

Background

Students with ADHD symptoms in post-secondary settings often go undiagnosed which can contribute to challenges for their overall academic success. The objectives of this study were twofold: (1) examine results of the ADHD Adult Self-Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1, Part A) comparing ADHD symptoms to self-report diagnosis and (2) analyse the association of self-efficacy and anxiety for subjects who scored 4 or more on the ASRS-v1.1.

Methods

A sample of 553 students from a university in southern United States was analysed. The ASRS-v1.1, Part A, six items from the Global Self-efficacy Scale, and two subscales of 6 items each from the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Index were used.

Results

Participants with a score of 4 or higher on the ASRSv1.1, Part A represented symptomology associated with Adult ADHD. ANOVA results showed participants in the group with 4 or more reported lower self-efficacy and higher scores on the anxiety measures. The OLS regression results also indicated ASRS scores were positively associated with the outcomes.

KEYWORDS:

• ADHD
• adhd diagnosis
• anxiety
• detection
• higher education
• screening
• self-efficacy
• self-report

Disclosure Statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of the southern University at which students were sampled.