Diagnosis of the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in college student end effects on academic performance

Introduction: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a chronic disorder that affects the areas of life such as family, education, work and social life of an individual not only in childhood but also in adulthood, and that may progress with other disorders. That the individuals in university period which coincides with early adulthood experience the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder without making a diagnosis, more precisely, failure to come up with a solution as they are not aware of the problem, have effects that may range from having problems with such areas as academic success and social participation to losing their confidence and self-esteem. Therefore, elaborating on this issue implies great significance with regard to productivity and life quality of individuals who are to get into the business life. Purpose: This study deals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among college students, and aims to make a contribution to the literature of studies in Turkey in this respect. In line with this purpose, diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder on college students, and its influence on grade point average and performance value is studied. Method: Under the study, 150 undergraduate students of Doğuş University Department of Social Sciences were subject to Wender Utah Rating Scale and Adult ADD/ADHD Diagnosis and Evaluation Test Based on DSM-IV. Findings: Only 5 of students that participated in the research were found to be diagnosable for both childhood and adulthood symptoms of ADHD. No significance difference was found between grade points of the students who can be diagnosed with ADHD and those who do not show the characteristics of ADHD. In addition, the sex variable was not found to have a significant effect on ADHD. Conclusion: Even though previous studies argue that sex has an effect on ADHD, there are also studies that show opposite outcomes. The studies showing that ADHD has an influence on grade points of students are also present. Just as ADHD may be confused with more than one disorder, the level of academic success may depend on other factors. It would be more stimulating for both ADHD measures and for the efforts to enhance academic success of students to take such factors into consideration in subsequent studies. Keywords: Attention Deficit, Hyperactivity, Student, Adult, ADHD