Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39819162›Full record

ArticleJournal of attention disorders2025

Symptoms of ADHD and Other Common Mental Disorders Influence Academic Success in South African Undergraduates.

Nawal Mohamad, Kim-Louise Rousseau, Fatimah Dowlut, Milton Gering, Kevin G F Thomas

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of attention disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Observational
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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Nawal MohamadUniversity of Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0009-0007-2301-5976
Kim-Louise RousseauUniversity of Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0001-9530-2375
Fatimah DowlutUniversity of Cape Town, South Africa.
Milton GeringUniversity of Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-9959-291X
Kevin G F ThomasUniversity of Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-0807-6101

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveADHD symptoms are highly prevalent among university students. These symptoms, particularly the inattentive cluster, predispose students to poorer academic performance and worse academic adjustment. Moreover, ADHD symptoms are often comorbid with other common mental disorders; this comorbidity also leads to poor outcomes. South African students often have fewer resources to successfully transition to university. Hence, our longitudinal study used data from a sample of South African first-year undergraduate students to investigate (a) associations between ADHD symptoms and academic performance/adjustment, (b) separate influences of the inattentive and hyperactivity-impulsivity clusters on academic performance/adjustment, and (c) the influence of the combination of ADHD and psychiatric comorbidities on academic performance/adjustment.

methodWe collected data three times through the first semester of 2023. Predictors within our regression models included sociodemographic variables, psychological variables (self-reported symptoms of ADHD, depression, anxiety, and risky alcohol use), and high school academic performance. Outcomes were first-semester GPA and self-reported academic adjustment (magnitude of change across the semester and overall adjustment at the end of the semester).

resultsAnalyses showed that, unlike academic performance (

conclusionsOur findings suggest that the presence of ADHD symptoms (both with and without other common mental disorders) is associated with a smaller magnitude of academic adjustment, and that the presence of inattentive symptoms of ADHD is associated with both poorer academic performance and smaller magnitude of academic adjustment. These findings are significant in informing future interventions targeting the academic outcomes of first-year university students.

Indexed as

Academic PerformanceAcademic SuccessAttention Deficit Disorder with HyperactivityMental DisordersStudentsAdolescentComorbidityFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleSouth AfricaUniversitiesYoung Adultacademic successADHDalcohol useanxietycommon mental disorderscomorbiditydepressionuniversity students

Identifiers

PMID39819162
PMCPMC11800717

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LicenceCC BY
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.