Health, Dietary Habits, and Achievement Motivation in College Students With Self-Reported ADHD Diagnosis

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate aspects of health and motivation in a subpopulation of college students with ADHD. Method: Seventy-seven college students with self-reported ADHD (49 women; M age = 25.82, SD = 4.62) and 120 college students without ADHD (65 women; M age = 25.17, SD = 5.41) participated in an online survey assessing their health, dietary habits, and achievement motivation. Results: College students with ADHD showed impairment in psychological functioning, impairment in their mental health, and reported more ambition and less self-control. Furthermore, we found gender differences: Women with ADHD reported worse psychological functioning, and the gender differences in obsessive-compulsive behavior and compensatory effort were mediated by the timing of diagnosis. Conclusion: College students, especially women, with ADHD struggle with health-related issues. Some of these gender differences might be due to under diagnosis of girls in childhood. Differences in achievement motivation might indicate compensatory mechanisms.