Comparing the Electronic Media Habits of Adolescents with ADHD and without ADHD
Date
2015-08-06
Authors
Loiselle, Katherine
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Abstract
The main objective of this exploratory study is to compare the time in which adolescents with ADHD and adolescents without ADHD spend using electronic media (e.g., video games and watching television) and engaging in other activities (e.g. completing homework/studying, spending time with family, and spending time with friends), using The High School Longitudinal Study of (HSLS:09). The sample taken from the HSLS:09 included N=15,189 9th graders from over 900 public and private high schools. These 15,189 students made up the sample for the present study. Of the 15,189 students included in the sample, 7,600 (50.04%) students were male and 7,589 (49.96%) students were female. Additionally, 13,554 (89.24%) of students did not have ADHD, and 1,635 (10.76%) students did have ADHD. The amount of time these two groups of adolescents spent with families, with friends, and completing homework/studying was examined. Results indicated that the students with ADHD reported to play video games and watch television for more hours per school day than the students without ADHD. Additionally, the students with ADHD reported spending less time with family than the students without ADHD. Furthermore, both samples watched television and played video games for larger amounts of time than they spent on homework/studying. These results have educational implications for students, parents, teachers, school administrators, and educational policy makers.
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Keywords
ADHD, Television, Electronic media, Attention, Video games