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Objective: The purpose of this study was to reexamine the latent structure of ADHD and sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) due to issues with construct validity. Two proposed changes to the construct include viewing hyperactivity and sluggishness (hypoactivity) as a single continuum of activity level, and viewing inattention as a separate dimension from activity level. Method: Data were collected from 1,398 adults using Amazon's MTurk. A new scale measuring activity level was developed, and scores of Inattention were regressed onto scores of Activity Level using curvilinear regression. Results: The Activity Level scale showed acceptable levels of internal consistency, normality, and unimodality. Curvilinear regression indicates that a quadratic (curvilinear) model accurately explains a small but significant portion of the variance in levels of inattention. Conclusion: Hyperactivity and hypoactivity may be viewed as a continuum, rather than separate disorders. Inattention may have a U-shaped relationship with activity level. Linear analyses may be insufficient and inaccurate for studying ADHD.

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OBJECTIVE: Executive functioning (EF) deficits have been associated with ADHD. However, disagreement exists concerning the extent to which cognitive tests of EF accurately reflect a diagnosis of ADHD. Barkley developed the Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale (BDEFS) by categorizing the meta-construct of EF into five subdomains. This study investigated the incremental validity of the BDEFS in predicting symptoms of ADHD compared with a visual-search task. We also investigated patterns among the five BDEFS domains. METHOD: One hundred and sixteen college students completed a visual-search task and the BDEFS and reported on their symptoms of ADHD. RESULTS: (a) BDEFS total scores significantly predicted total ADHD symptoms, whereas the visual-search task failed to predict ADHD symptoms. (b) The BDEFS demonstrated significant correlations with symptoms of ADHD in expected patterns. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence of validity for the BDEFS in a college sample.

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Evidence suggests that ADHD can impair academic achievement in college students and throughout the life span. College students with ADHD are an at-risk population who might benefit from interventions. An offshoot of CBT-oriented therapy that has grown significantly and gained popularity in recent years is ADHD coaching. ADHD coaching is a psychosocial intervention that helps individuals develop skills, strategies, and behaviors to cope with the core impairments associated with ADHD. Most coaching programs are primarily based on a CBT approach and target planning, time management, goal setting, organization, and problem solving. This paper describes ADHD coaching for college students and discusses how coaching is different from standard CBT treatment. This is followed by a review of empirical studies of the effectiveness of ADHD coaching for college students. Finally, some specific considerations and procedures used in coaching are described.

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OBJECTIVE: This study sought to explore how anxiety impacts college students with ADHD, especially with regard to cognitive functioning. METHOD: 473 college students with ADHD and a control group of 200 college students without ADHD completed self-report measures of anxiety, ADHD symptomatology and tests of cognitive functioning. RESULTS: Students with ADHD reported significantly more anxiety than students without ADHD. Within the ADHD group, the relationship between anxiety and inattention was similar to the relationship between anxiety and hyperactivity/impulsivity. Students with ADHD reported more anxiety with regard to academics compared to life-in-general. There were no gender differences for anxiety; however, freshman indicated more anxiety than upper-classmen. Anxiety and inattention were found to interact such that students with low levels of inattention but high levels of anxiety performed better on tasks of cognitive ability. CONCLUSION: Anxiety in college students with ADHD can take many forms, and interventions require a multi-focused approach. There may be some positive aspects to anxiety.

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OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated a program for ADHD coaching in a sample of college students. METHOD: ADHD coaching was conducted with 148 college students over a 5-year period. The theoretical orientation combined cognitive-behavioral therapy with psychoeducational techniques. Executive functioning served as a way of viewing both initial problem areas and outcomes. RESULTS: Clients who received an 8-week coaching program showed significant improvement in all 10 areas of study and learning strategies, on self-esteem, and on measures of symptom distress and satisfaction with school and work. These results were consistent across different semesters and time of semester, and with a variety of different coaches, all of whom were novice coaches. CONCLUSION: This study provides important preliminary information about ADHD coaching, including coaching structure, processes, efficacy, and correlates of positive outcomes. Additional evaluations utilizing a randomized controlled design are needed.

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OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether the positive illusory bias explains the self-evaluations of driving and work behaviors in college students with ADHD. METHOD: A total of 103 students with ADHD were compared to a sample of 94 students without ADHD. Both groups completed self-reports of their specific driving and work behaviors and then rated their overall, global performance in each area. Three specific-to-global change scores were obtained (one measuring work and two measuring driving) that were thought to be measures of the positive illusory bias. These specific-to-global change scores were analyzed using chi-square to evaluate differences between participants with and without ADHD. RESULTS: The participants with ADHD were significantly more likely than the participants without ADHD to engage in the positive illusory bias on two of the three work and driving ratings. CONCLUSION: College students with ADHD demonstrate self-evaluations that appear to reflect the positive illusory bias and that may be related to their academic functioning in the college setting and willingness to receive treatment.

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OBJECTIVE: This study examines differences in reported levels of drug and alcohol use between college students with and without ADHD. METHOD: The Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) and several self-report and interview questions, developed by Barkley, were used to examine the drug and alcohol use of college students with and without ADHD. RESULTS: Between-group differences were found on the MAST and in the endorsement of marijuana use. Subtype differences were also found on the MAST. Several factors, including medication treatment status, ethnicity, class standing, and gender were found to be differentially related to problematic drinking behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Difficulties in self-regulation may put college students with ADHD at a higher risk of problematic drinking and the subsequent risk for alcohol-use disorders than their peers. Possible explanations for results are discussed in terms of theory, prevention efforts, and future research.

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OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the time estimation abilities of college students with ADHD on a novel, complex task that approximated academically oriented activities. METHOD: Totally 20 college students with ADHD were compared to a sample of 20 non-ADHD students. Both groups completed a task, and scores were obtained for time to complete the task, errors made, prospective time estimate, confidence in estimate, and retrospective time estimate. In addition, scores were calculated for the difference between prospective estimate and actual time as well as the difference between retrospective estimate and actual time. RESULTS: Controlling for cognitive ability, the ADHD participants were significantly different from the non-ADHD participants on all dependent measures except confidence and errors. CONCLUSION: College students with ADHD showed retrospective time estimation difficulties that may be related to academic functioning in the college setting.

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OBJECTIVE: To provide an analysis of the use of between session assignments (BSA) in ADHD coaching with college students. The article provides a description of the structure and process of using BSA in an academic setting. METHOD: A brief survey of ADHD coaches is used to evaluate 13 coaching clients engaged in an 8-week structured program. A case study illustrates the process of using BSA with college students. RESULTS: Overall progress in the ADHD coaching sessions was significantly correlated with coach's rating of the client's quality of BSA during treatment, the client's positive attitude to BSA, and the usefulness of BSA. Treatment gain scores were significantly related to the client's being motivated by a desire to please their parents. CONCLUSIONS: BSAs can be useful in the context of ADHD coaching with college students.

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OBJECTIVE: This study examines the difference between college students with and without Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in regard to their work performance. METHOD: A series of ANOVAs analyzed group differences in symptoms experienced at work. The independent variable was group (i.e., ADHD, Controls). The dependent variables include items from Barkley's "Work Performance Rating Scale" (Barkley & Murphy, 1998), which assesses the degree to which symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity are evident on the job. For the group with ADHD, the relationship between symptom severity and indicators of work performance (e.g., number of times fired, overall rating of work performance) was also examined, using correlational analyses. Descriptive analyses were also used to examine which items were most frequently endorsed by the group with ADHD, as well as which areas of work were most affected by ADHD symptoms. RESULTS: Results reveal that ADHD has a detrimental impact on the work performance of college students in multiple areas. Severity of symptoms was unrelated to number of times fired from a job and the overall indicator of work performance. CONCLUSION: College students with ADHD do exhibit more on-the-job difficulties than their non-ADHD peers, and thus may require extra support with their work-related endeavors.

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The study examined the fears and anxieties of Chinese deaf and hard of hearing children and adolescents, and the ability of parents and teachers to report the presence of these fears and anxieties. Chinese deaf youth are at risk due to a lack of trained teachers, an overemphasis on oral education in schools, negative stereotypes, and parental overprotectiveness. The deaf children and adolescents in the study reported significantly higher levels of total fears, total anxieties, fear of the unknown, fear of injury and small animals, fear of medical procedures, and concentration anxiety than their hearing counterparts. Girls reported more total fears, fear of the unknown, fear of minor injury and small animals, and fear of failure and criticism than boys. Parents showed a better ability than teachers to confirm these reports of fears and anxieties. Implications and directions for future studies are presented.

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This study used confirmatory factor analysis to compare one-, two-, and three-factor models of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms to determine which model is the best fit for the data. Participants were 190 clinic-referred college students who had been evaluated for ADHD, 155 of whom had received a diagnosis. Data consisted of both self- and other (e.g., parent) ratings of both current and childhood symptoms. Symptoms came directly from the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD. A three-factor model, consistent with the DSM-III, was superior for current and childhood symptoms, regardless of rater (i.e., self or parent). The primary implication for these findings is that there may be a viable Impulsive subtype of ADHD within the adult population. Further research might include a closer examination of the unique functional limitations associated with impulsivity, as well as the development of diagnostic items that maximize model fit.

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The goal of this study was to examine the incremental validity and the clinical utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2; (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) and Rorschach (Rorschach, 1942) with regard to differential diagnosis in a sample of adult inpatients with a primary psychotic disorder or a primary mood disorder without psychotic features. Diagnostic efficiency statistics have suggested that the Rorschach Perceptual Thinking Index (PTI; Exner, 2000a, 2000b) was better than MMPI-2 scales in discriminating psychotic patients from nonpsychotic patients. We compared the 84% overall correct classification rate (OCC) for the PTI to an OCC of 70% for the MMPI-2 scales. Adding the MMPI-2 scales to the PTI resulted in a decrease in OCC of 1%, whereas adding the PTI to the MMPI-2 resulted in an increase in OCC of 14%. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive power, negative predictive power, and kappa were equal or higher with only the PTI in the model.

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The purpose of this study was to examine variables that affected the mental health of Chinese college students. The variables were ethnicity, gender, age, place of origin, and level of satisfaction with major. Mental health status was classified into Groups A, B, and C, as measured by the University Personality Inventory. Group A referred to students with severe mental health problems necessitating counseling services, Group B students experienced adjustment problems, and Group C students had no symptoms of mental health problems. The results indicated that ethnicity, gender, age, and level of satisfaction with one's major could significantly differentiate Group A and Group C students. The strongest predictor of Group A and Group B relative to the Group C membership was the level of satisfaction with one's major. Implications and directions for future studies were presented.

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The authors compared levels and types of fears and anxieties in a sample of Mexican American children and adolescents with disabilities to a group of White children and adolescents with similar disabilities. Students (N = 238), parents, and teachers completed the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (T. H. Ollendick, 1983) and the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (C. R. Reynolds & B. O. Richmond, 1997). Levels of fear and anxiety were similar for both groups of students and were similarly underestimated by teachers. The groups of students differed in terms of their specific fears and the degree to which their parents recognized their children's fears (Mexican American parents were less accurate at rating their children's fears). Mexican American girls aged 7-10 and 11-13 years and White girls aged 14-18 years reported the highest scores; White boys aged 14-18 years reported the lowest scores.

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This study examined the association between past experience of victimization (PEV), perceived risk of victimization (PRV), and nonspecific psychological distress (NSPD). Repeated measures-analysis of variance and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted on 186 seventh grade middle school students from an urban university-research-affiliated school. Results indicated that gender, PEV, and PRV significantly predicted NSPD. There were no gender differences in either the total number of past experience of victimization or depressive and/or anxious feelings reported. However, the types of victimization experienced as well as perceived risk of victimization appeared to be gender-related in that boys were significantly higher than girls on past experience of physical aggression and property aggression but significantly lower than girls on past experience of emotional aggression and perceived risk of victimization. In gender-specific analyses, PRV mediated the effects of PEV on NSPD for girls but not boys. The reasons for these findings, as well as implications for social policies and future directions, are discussed.

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In this study, we investigated evidence for reliability and validity of the Perceptual Thinking Index (PTI; Exner, 2000a, 2000b) among an adult inpatient population. We conducted reliability and validity analyses on 107 patients who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text revision; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) criteria for a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder (SSD) or mood disorder with no psychotic features (MD). Results provided support for interrater reliability as well as internal consistency of the PTI. Furthermore, the PTI was an effective index in differentiating SSD patients from patients diagnosed with an MD. Finally, the PTI demonstrated adequate diagnostic statistics that can be useful in the classification of patients diagnosed with SSD and MD. We discuss methodological issues, implications for assessment practice, and directions for future research.

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Two competing structural models for the revised Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) were examined. The test developers promote a model related to three uncorrelated components of strategic learning: skill, will, and self-regulation. Other investigators have shown empirical support for a three-factor correlated model characterized by effort-related activities, goal orientation, and cognitive activities (ER-GO-CA). Neither model has been verified on scores from the second edition of the LASSI. In the present sample of 297 college students, confirmatory factor analysis of the subscale scores provided support for the ER-GO-CA model.

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Considerable discussion has occurred about the most appropriate methods for diagnosing learning disabilities (LD) in postsecondary students. Two of the many areas of controversy that have emerged include the appropriate diagnostic criteria to use and the appropriate referent group. A review of previous court cases demonstrates that the issue of whether to compare an individual to the general population or to a smaller referent population has not been adequately clarified. Furthermore, few empirical studies have examined the impact of choosing different referent groups on the likelihood that one will be diagnosed with LD. Therefore, this correlational study described the levels of agreement between three diagnostic models of LD, using both age- and grade-based norms to represent two referent groups for each of the three models. The sample included 155 postsecondary students referred for testing due to academic difficulties. The findings indicated that in two of the three models tested, comparing individuals to their grade-matched peers (i.e., using grade-based norms) resulted in more LD diagnoses than comparing individuals to their age-matched peers (i.e., age-based norms).

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