- Published: October 2, 2022
- Updated: October 2, 2022
- Level: Masters
- Language: English
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Hyperactivity in Children Order no. 263147 No. of pages: 2 Premium 6530 Hyperactivity and academic achievement are said to closely related and influence each other. This relationship between the two could be viewed from two angles. It could either be frustration that is associated with the difficulty of achieving, which in turn leads to problems of hyperactive behavior, or it could be that hyperactive behavior makes it more difficult for the child to adjust and become an achiever.
Introduction
The main problem that faces us is stated by (Frick et al., 1991; Rabiner & Malone, 2004;
Rapport, Scanlan, & Denney, 1999) who say that, ‘ Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are typically academic underachievers. It has been estimated that anywhere from 9% to 80% of children with ADHD have significant learning problems.’ This problem of hyperactivity adversely influences the quality of life of the child through poor performance on all academic fronts. Though genetically influenced, yet underachievement is adversely influenced by hyperactivity.
Method
The method used for the research included multivariate genetic analysis since univariate is not capable of addressing the etiology regarding the covariance between the two – hyperactivity and academic achievement. Multivariate genetic research exploring the etiology of co-morbidity between diagnoses of ADHD and reading disability (RD) suggests that there is a significant genetic overlap between the two disorders (Light, Pennington, Gilger, & DeFries, 1995; Willcutt, Pennington, & DeFries, 2000). The research also found out that between the two disorders about 64% of the phenotype covariance was attributed to influences which were commonly genetic in nature.
Results
Co-relations between the parents and teachers on the agreement for hyperactivity were more or less the same. The results for association between hyperactivity and academic achievement showed that problems of hyperactivity were strongly associated to academic achievement than the regular cognitive behavior. Results also showed that cognitive behavior generally des not substantially contribute to any covariance between hyperactivity and achievement. When comparing among the children, the results in the teacher ratings showed that children who exhibited greater hyperactivity also exhibited lower levels of achievement academically. For the parent ratings the results showed that the co-relation between hyperactivity and academic achievement for lower for the males and females when compared to the teacher groups.
Discussion
It was found that genetic covariance between the two – hyperactivity and achievement was consistent between the narrowly defined phenotype regarding problems of attention. It was also found that there were no gender differences in both genetic and environmental sources of covariance. The research arrived at a rationale that hyperactive children experiencing behavior problems also experience difficulties in academic achievement.
References
Frick, P. J., Kamphaus, R. W., Lahey, B. B., Loeber, R., Christ, M. A. G., Hart, E. L, et al. (1991). Academic underachievement and the disruptive behavior disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 289 – 294.
Light, J. G., Pennington, B. F., Gilger, J. W., & DeFries, J. C.(1995). Reading disability and hyperactivity disorder: Evidence for a common genetic etiology. Developmental Neuropsychology, 11, 323 – 335.
Rabiner, D. L., & Malone, P. S. (2004). The impact of tutoring on early reading achievement for children with and without attention problems. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 32, 273 – 284.
Rapport, M. D., Scanlan, S. W., & Denney, C. B. (1999). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and scholastic achievement: A model of dual developmental pathways. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 40, 1169 – 1183.
Willcutt, E. G., Pennington, B. F., & DeFries, J. C. (2000). Twin study of the etiology of comorbidity between reading disability and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Medical Genetics (Neuropsychiatric Genetics), 96, 293 – 301.