Beyond academic outcomes: Occupational profile and quality of life among college students with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Introduction: The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to describe the occupational profile and quality of life among college students with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Method: Forty college students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and 40 controls (mean age 25.81 years, SD = 3.02) were evaluated with the Occupational Questionnaire and the Adult ADHD Quality-of-Life scale. Results: The two groups demonstrated similar amounts of time spent in occupational domains, as well as similar ratings of ‘perceived importance’. However, the ‘perceived competence’ and ‘perceived enjoyment’ were significantly lower in the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder group than in the control group in most occupational domains and in the total score. Significant differences, with very large effect sizes, were found between the groups on all measures of the Adult ADHD Quality-of-Life scale. A moderate significant correlation was found between the mean perceived competence score and Adult ADHD Quality-of-Life scale total score within the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder group. Conclusion: The results highlight the negative effect of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder on quality of life among college students. The perception of competence and enjoyment in occupations may be optimal targets for therapeutic intervention.