Thesis (M.S.)--Auburn University, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2008. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 174 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-152).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisor: Caryn L. Carlson. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI company.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, Aug., 2009. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1999. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-80). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 33-38).

Recent literature suggests that not only does Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD/ADD) persist into adulthood, but it can also be accompanied by personality characteristics which cause emotional difficulties. In fact, adults diagnosed with ADHD can present with a profusion of difficulties. Several constructs appear to accumulate dynamically throughout development to place the adult with ADHD at risk for multiple emotional problems. These interwoven influences include familial characteristics, childhood emotional and academic difficulties, and inadequate coping skills to respond to adulthood pressures. This document, first, describes a developmental model for conceptualizing negative trajectories leading to nonadaptive coping and psychopathology and identifies personality factors of adults diagnosed with ADHD. This model provides clinicians and researchers with a better understanding of the complexity and challenges of adulthood ADHD in order to aid in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. The purpose of this study is to examine personality factors common to adults diagnosed with ADHD and compares these characteristics with a group of adults diagnosed with a depressive disorder. Adults responding to a community advertisement who provided documentation of the diagnosis of Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder were administered the MMPI-2. This ADHD group was compared with MMPI-2 profiles of a group of adults diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder or Dysthymic Disorder. A cluster analysis procedure was performed and results are discussed.

This study recorded Event Related Potentials (ERPs) during completion of a Continuous Performance Task (CPT) in order to identify the contribution of response inhibition, working memory, and response monitoring to the pattern of hyperactive and impulsive and inattentive behaviour observed in patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). Four ERP components, Nogo N2, Nogo P3, Go P3, and the ERN were examined and compared using a symptomatic and asymptomatic ADHD sample, and a healthy control group. The Nogo N2 had the expected frontal scalp distribution and was affected by changes to inhibitory demands. It was also suggested that this component was not wholly determined by inhibitory processing and may have been influenced by differing presentation rates of the Go stimulus, a template matching process or an in-depth response strategy. Source localisation analysis suggested a right frontal generator for this component. The Nogo P3 had the expected central distribution and had equal amplitude for those participants that were more efficient at inhibiting behaviours compared to those participants that were less efficient inhibitors. Contrary to expectations, the Nogo P3 was not affected by increasing the inhibitory demands of the task and was suggested as being a less reliable indicator of response inhibition in the present study. The Go P3 had the expected centro-parietal distribution, and appeared to provide a reliable index of working memory. Response inhibition and working memory were not impaired in the sample of symptomatic and asymptomatic ADHD adults used in this study. The symptomatic group elicited a slightly enhanced ERN compared to the asymptomatic and control groups, indicating that deficits in response monitoring may contribute to the pattern of problematic behaviour observed in people with ADHD.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complicated psychiatric disorder that is typically first diagnosed in childhood and associated with negative outcomes in adulthood such as poor academic performance and difficulties with social relationships. ADHD can be difficult to accurately diagnose in adulthood, given the absence of clear, agreed upon ADHD symptomology in adults. In the current study, two raters used psychometrically sound instruments and diagnostically valid assessment techniques on an archival dataset to create three distinct groups: ADHD [2/3 with other mental health diagnosis (OMH)], OMH only, and no diagnosis. Findings support the value of comprehensive assessment, combined with a thorough evaluation of the material by a trained clinician, for the accurate diagnosis of ADHD for research purposes. Comparisons were made across groups to infer that college students with ADHD have lower grade point averages and academic self-concept than students without mental health diagnoses. Yet, contrary to much of the current literature, college students with ADHD seem to create as strong, deep, supportive and harmonious relationships with loved ones and close friends as their non-diagnosed peers. Clinicians working with college students with ADHD may use the results of the current study to better inform conceptualization, better recognize the innate resilience college students with ADHD likely have, and inform treatment interventions.

The past decade has witnessed students with disabilities attending university in everincreasing numbers. In particular, many countries, including Australia, now report that students with so-called 'invisible disabilities' comprise the vast majority of those seeking support from Student Disability Services at university. Despite this increase, relatively few researchers have investigated the processes involved in the university education of students with disabilities, particularly during their crucial first year, when the highest rate of student attrition occurs across the board. The substantial body of research which has investigated the 'first year experience' for university students in Australia and the United States of America has ignored the issues unique to students with disabilities during this critical period. At the same time, some researchers, predominantly in the United States of America and the United Kingdom, have studied the tertiary education of students with disabilities. However, the subject has received less attention in Australia. Also, certain categories of university students with disabilities have been overlooked. In particular, university students diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) appear to be one of the groups that have attracted little attention worldwide, despite the vast body of research that exists on children and, increasingly, on adults with the diagnosis. These students constituted the focus of the study reported in this thesis. The aim of this study was to develop substantive theory about how university students who are diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) deal with their first year. The study is conceptualised within the social theory of symbolic interactionism. A central research question and a series of related guiding questions were used as the starting point for data collection. Data collection was conducted largely through in-depth, individual, face-to-face semistructured interviews, and participant observation consistent with the interpretivist qualitative research tradition. In addition, informal interviews, telephone interviews and documents provided supplementary data for the study. Data analysis, which occurred concurrently with data collection, employed the open coding method consistent with the grounded theory model and the development and testing of propositions. The central proposition of the substantive theory generated from this study is that students diagnosed with AD/HD experience a sense of developing empowerment as they progress through three stages in their first year at university. The first stage in the theory of developing empowerment is entitled the development of empowerment through realising a dream. The second stage is entitled the development of empowerment through becoming proactive. The final stage is entitled the development of empowerment through the feeling of belonging. The theory of developing empowerment provides a new perspective on how university students with a diagnosis of AD/HD deal with their first year of study. A number of implications for further theory development, policy and practice are drawn from it. There are also several recommendations for further research.