Self-concept and academic achievement of elementary school students with ADHD symptoms

Abstract

This study investigates whether children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms show a positive illusory bias (Hoza et al. 2002) with respect to their academic achievement. Therefore, the self-concept in reading, writing, and math of second graders was related to their academic achievement in these domains. Children with ADHD symptoms as according to teacher ratings (n = 262) overestimated their achievement more than children without ADHD symptoms (n = 981). However, when children with ADHD symptoms were compared to a control group matched for academic achievement, no group differences were found. Furthermore, children with ADHD symptoms had the highest self-concept in the domain of their best performance. Our data suggests that the positive illusory bias is not specific for ADHD.