Academic motivation decreases across adolescence for youth with and without attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Effects of motivation on academic success

Abstract

BackgroundThis longitudinal study examined growth trajectories of academic motivation in youth with and without attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) across the important developmental transition from middle school to high school, and associations with academic success. Consistent with self‐determination theory (SDT) of motivation, trajectories of amotivation, extrinsic motivation, and intrinsic motivation were modeled.MethodsThe study included a robust multi‐method, multi‐source assessment of academic outcomes, including homework performance ratings; reading and mathematics standardized test scores; and grade point average (GPA) obtained from school records. Participants included 302 adolescents (ages 12–14; Mage = 13.20) in eighth grade who were specifically recruited so that approximately half (n = 162) were diagnosed with ADHD and 140 adolescents comprising a comparison sample without ADHD. The sample was predominantly White (81.80%), with 7.90% identifying as bi/multiracial, 5.30% identifying as Black/African American, 4.60% identifying as Asian, and 0.30% identifying as Indigenous/Alaskan.ResultsAdolescents with ADHD had worse academic motivation at all timepoints. Growth curve analyses indicated the academic motivation of adolescents without ADHD decreased at faster rates across the transition to high school compared to adolescents with ADHD. However, for adolescents with ADHD, amotivation, extrinsic motivation, and intrinsic motivation each predicted GPA, with higher extrinsic and intrinsic motivation also predicting better homework performance and different aspects of math performance, whereas for youth without ADHD, only amotivation and extrinsic motivation predicted GPA.ConclusionsIntervention and school policy implications are discussed, including the importance of fostering autonomy and internal motivation, and consideration of whether current ADHD interventions primarily foster extrinsic motivation.