Graduation Year

2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Granting Department

Psychological and Social Foundations

Major Professor

Julia A. Ogg, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Shannon M. Suldo, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Robert Dedrick, Ph.D.

Keywords

Academic achievement, Early adolescence, Psychopathology, Quality of life, Subjective well-being

Abstract

Given increased evidence related to the importance of fostering life satisfaction in the overall population (Diener & Diener, 1996), as well as recent suggestions regarding the importance of increasing positive academic and social outcomes for youth with ADHD (DuPaul, 2007), it is important to gain a clearer understanding of how life satisfaction may be related to ADHD symptoms. Although research has examined the relationship between life satisfaction and externalizing behavior (Suldo & Huebner, 2004a), research on the relationship between life satisfaction and ADHD is currently limited. This study examined if levels of ADHD symptoms predicted reports of life satisfaction in a middle school population (n = 172). Hyperactive/impulsive and inattentive symptoms explained 2.5% of the variance in the dependent variable, life satisfaction, which is not a statistically significant amount, F(2, 169) = 2.2, p = .12. Results of this study also demonstrated that perceived interparental conflict did not moderate the relationship between ADHD symptoms and life satisfaction. Additionally, results of this study demonstrated that life satisfaction did not moderate the relationship between inattentive symptoms and academic achievement in reading, academic achievement in mathematics, and depressive symptoms. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

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