Abstract
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurobehavioral developmental
disorder that affects attention and concentration of children. In Africa, there is
a lack of information on academic performance of children with ADHD. This article
aims to (1) determine the academic performance and intelligent quotient (IQ) of pupils
with ADHD, (2) compare the academic performance and IQ of children with ADHD to those
without ADHD, and (3) determine other factors affecting academic performance in children
with ADHD. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Ile Ife among
pupils aged 5 to 12 years. They were screened with Disruptive Behavioral Disorder
Rating Scale, IQs determined with the Draw-A-Person test (DAPT), the academic performance
determined with academic performance questionnaire (APQ), and continuous assessment
(CA) score for 2013/2014 session recorded. A total of 32.3% of 65 pupils with ADHD
had low CA score, while 9.6% of 1,320 pupils without ADHD had low CA score. The CA
score of pupils with ADHD was significantly lower (χ2
= 36.875, p = 0.001), particularly among older children aged 9 to 12 years (χ
2 = 4.135, p = 0.042). A total of 46.2% of 65 pupils with ADHD had subnormal IQ, while 47.2% of
1,320 pupils without ADHD had subnormal IQ. There was no significant difference between
the IQ of children with ADHD and their peers without ADHD (χ2
= 0.023, p = 0.879). Children with ADHD had similar IQ as their peers without ADHD but lower
CA score. The low academic performance in pupils with ADHD could be attributed to
inattentiveness in the affected pupils.
Keywords
ADHD - academic performance - IQ - Nigeria
