Psychological and academic functioning in college students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been increasingly recog nized as a valid adult diagnosis. Yet the impairments related to ADHD in co llege students have received little scholarly attention. Psychological and academic impairments in college students not previously diagnosed with ADHD were assessed in a retrospective chart review, using specifically defined diagnostic criteria, and compared with a control group. Students with ADHD had a significantly lower mean grade point average, were mon likely to be o n academic probation, and reported significantly more academic problems. Me asures of psychological impairment in the ADHD group were not significantly different from those in the control group. College students diagnosed with ADHD had a specific pattern of academic impairment. The problems of these students, compared with other groups of children and adults with ADHD, appe ared to be more related to a type of learning disorder than to the conceptu alization of ADHD in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disord ers (DSM-IV).