Change in teachers' ratings of attention problems and subsequent change in academic achievement: a prospective analysis
Open accessAbstract
Background: Recent research has documented a link between attention problems at school entry and later academic achievement. Little is known about the association of change in attention problems during the early school years with subsequent change in academic achievement. Method: A community-based cohort was followed up and assessed for attention problems at ages 6 and 11 (Teacher Report Form; TRF) and for academic achievement in math and reading at ages 11 and 17 (Woodcock–Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery). Complete data were available on 590 children (72% of the initial sample). Ordinary least squares regressions were used to estimate change in academic achievement from age 11 to age 17 in relation to change in TRF-attention problems from age 6 to age 11. Children's IQ and family factors were statistically controlled. Results: Change in teachers' ratings of attention problems from age 6 to age 11 was negatively associated with change in math and reading from age 11 to age 17, controlling for children's IQ and family factors. Externalizing problems had no significant association with change in math or reading, when added to the multivariable model. Conclusions: Increases in teacher-rated attention problems from age 6 to age 11 were followed by declines in academic achievement from age 11 to age 17; decreases were followed by gains. The results underscore the need for research on the course of attention problems, the testing of interventions to address children's early attention problems and the evaluation of their effects on subsequent academic achievement.
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Children with ADHD with more inattentive symptoms are more likely to have academic problems than those with more hyperactive-impulsive symptoms.
“prior work suggests that children with ADHD who exhibit higher levels of inattentive symptoms are more likely to exhibit academic problems, compared to children with higher levels of hyperactivity-impulsivity (Barriga, Doran, Newal, Morrison, Barbetti, & Robbins, 2002; Breslau et al., 2010; Lahey & Willcutt, 2002; Marshall, Hynd, Handwerk & Hall, 1997).”
From Semantic Language as a Mechanism Explaining the Association between ADHD Symptoms and Reading and Mathematics Underachievement (2012) · cites this paper as Breslau et al., 2010
Inattentive ADHD symptoms are usually more strongly linked to academic underachievement than hyperactive-impulsive symptoms.
“Although prior research has established that inattentive ADHD symptoms typically are more highly associated with academic underachievement than hyperactive-impulsive ADHD symptoms (Breslau et al., 2010)”
From Semantic Language as a Mechanism Explaining the Association between ADHD Symptoms and Reading and Mathematics Underachievement (2012) · cites this paper as Breslau et al., 2010
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- Authors
- Breslau, N., Breslau, J., Peterson, E., Miller, E., Lucia, V. C., Bohnert, K., & Nigg, J.
- Affiliations
- Michigan State University (US)
- University of California, Davis (US)
- Henry Ford Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- Breslau, N.
- Venue
- Psychological Medicine
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2009-06-03
- Volume
- 40
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 159-166
- ISSN
- 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-8978
- PMC
- PMC12872075
- OpenAlex
- W1995758750
- Cited by
- 52
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 3.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH44586, K01MH066057, R01MH044586)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- attention deficits, academic performance, teacher ratings, early school years, longitudinal change, mathematics achievement, reading achievement, externalizing problems, school entry, intervention evaluation
- MeSH terms
- Achievement, Adolescent, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Child, Child Behavior Disorders, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Mathematics, Michigan, Personality Assessment, Prospective Studies, Reading, Risk Factors, Cohort Studies, Disease Progression
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