The link between Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and reduced quality of life (QoL) has been well established. The current study examines the role of procrastination in explaining this link, providing a new focus for research and therapy. This study examines the involvement of procrastination in accounting for ADHD-related reduced QoL. Adult participants (N= 132) completed an online survey consisting of validated scales to assess ADHD symptoms, procrastination levels, and QoL. An indirect pathway between ADHD and quality of life through procrastination was examined. Higher levels of ADHD symptoms correlated with higher procrastination and lower quality-of-life scores. Indirect pathways between ADHD symptoms and poor QoL through levels of procrastination were identified. These results shed further light on ADHD and its association with reduced QoL and account for this link by the negative impact of procrastination on day-to-day functioning. Future research is warranted to design effective interventions for consumers with ADHD-related procrastination, targeting different aspects of quality of life.

The present study examined the effect of ADHD-related traits, academic-achievement level, and giftedness label on elementary school teachers’ and counselors’ referral recommendations for assessment. 532 teachers and counselors were presented with one of 12 vignettes describing a hypothetical pupil. Participants were asked to report the likelihood they would refer the pupil for ADHD diagnosis and address them during a high-level interdisciplinary school-team meeting (HISTM). High ADHD-related traits (effect size 0.359) and low academic-achievement (effect size 0.070) and their interaction were significantly related to a higher likelihood of referral. Further analysis revealed that lower academic achievement was related to a higher likelihood of referral only when ADHD-related traits were not indicated (p < .005). The status of giftedness label was not found to be significant (p > .05). These findings indicate that mainly ADHD-related traits and, to a lesser degree, low academic-achievement influence teachers’ decisions to refer pupils for ADHD diagnosis and address them in HISTM.

 BackgroundThis article presents the results of two studies investigating increased intra-individual variability (IIV) in the performance of individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in two cognitive domains: numerosity judgments and quantitative and verbal reasoning.MethodsStudy 1, a pre-registered experiment, involved approximately 200 participants (42.66% female; mean age: 36.86; standard deviation of age: 10.70) making numerical judgments at two time-points. ADHD-symptom severity was assessed on a continuous scale. In Study 2, we collected the data of approximately 3000 examinees who had taken a high-stakes admissions test for higher education (assessing quantitative and verbal reasoning). The sample comprised only people formally diagnosed with ADHD. The control group consisted of approximately 200 000 examinees, none of whom presented with ADHD.ResultsThe results of Study 1 revealed a positive correlation between IIV (distance between judgments at the two time-points) and ADHD symptom severity. The results of Study 2 demonstrated that IIV (distance between the scores on two test chapters assessing the same type of reasoning) was greater among examinees diagnosed with ADHD. In both studies, the findings persisted even after controlling for performance level.ConclusionsThe results indicate that individuals with ADHD, v. those without, exhibit less consistent numerosity judgments and greater fluctuation in performance on verbal and quantitative reasoning. The measurement of the same psychological constructs appears to be less precise among individuals with ADHD compared to those without. We discuss the theoretical contributions and practical implications of our results for two fields: judgment and decision-making, and assessment.