ADHD, Academic Stress, and You: Symptoms of ADHD Lead to Higher Levels of Academic Stress

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everyone across the globe. Students who have switched to remote learning have been affected by the drastic change. For students with learning disabilities, this change presents even more challenges. A growing prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms has been seen in college students. Limited research on ADHD in college students should be addressed as ADHD is a common neurological disorder that affects people of all ages. Another area of limited research includes academic stress levels among individuals with ADHD, along with their levels of COVID-19 related stress. To address this, the impact of ADHD symptoms on an individual's level of academic stress and COVID-19 related stress was explored. A total of 93 students completed questionnaires regarding symptoms of ADHD, of academic stress, and of COVID-19 related stress. An independent sample t-test comparing academic stress levels of individuals with and without symptoms of ADHD revealed those with symptoms of ADHD experience greater academic stress than those without symptoms. A second independent samples t-test comparing COVID-19 stress levels of participants with and without symptoms of ADHD revealed no significant difference. This suggests that ADHD symptoms are associated with higher levels of academic stress in college-level students and that symptoms of ADHD do not play a role in levels of COVID-19-related stress in college-level students. Future research should include investigation of ADHD symptoms in college students, the prevalence of ADHD symptoms pre-pandemic compared to post-pandemic, and how the pandemic has impacted academic stress levels for all students.