Self-Efficacy and ADHD
Speaker: Misty Sommers-Tackett
KENT STATE UNIVERSITY
mlsommer@kent.edu
Self-Efficacy and ADHD
What is Self-Efficacy?
What is ADHD?
How can I use this information?!
How are these related?
What research says…
What is Self-Efficacy?
It is the expectation that one can master a
situation, and produce a positive outcome
 Bandura’s Social Cognitive Model says
that there are 3 factors that influence selfefficacy: Behaviors, Environment, and
personal/cognitive factors. They all effect
each other, but the cognitive factors are
important.
B
P/C
 Bandura believed that there is more to learning than just
‘behaviorism’, what you believe about a situation is important too.
E
What is ADHD?
 Disorder that impairs children
in learning and social behaviors.
 Inattention
 Hyperactivity
 Comorbid learning disorders
 Results in a pattern of failures in
classroom activities, as well as failures in
social relationships.
How are these related?
 Comorbidity with Major Depression. 26 % risk among ADHD children
by Young adulthood.
 Depression is a serious problem due to mortality.
 ADHD and depression are theorized to have the same genetic
predisposition.
 DSM IV-TR: one feature of a major depressive episode is a sense of
worthlessness, or ruminations over past failures.
 PAST FAILURES?!?! ADHD children have difficulties in both
academic and social areas….
**Comorbidity is higher in boys than in girls.
How are these related?
***MASTERY EXPERIENCES***
People develop Self Efficacy from 4 main sources:
 Performance accomplishment
 Observation of others performance
 Verbal/Social persuasions
 Mastery Experiences
Concept of Mastery Experiences: if you master one task, there is a
better chance of being successful at other similar tasks. (It is important
to note here that the mastery experience must be attributed to
themselves… not luck, or chance, or others help.)
*** If ADHD children are experiencing more failures than others in class
due to their disorder symptoms, then won’t their self-efficacy be lower
than children without disorders?
How are these related?
How many of you…
 Know how to tie your shoe?
 Know how to speak french?
 Know how to mix chemicals in the periodic table?
Now, how many of you…
 Would be interested in taking a 2 hour seminar in how to tie your
shoes in 12 different ways?
 Would be interested in 2 semesters of French?
 Would be interested in taking 8 years of college to become an expert
chemist, or to learn how to create liquid crystal inventions?
Hmmm…Level of Self-Efficacy + interest = odds of participation?
How are these related?
The Emotion of interest
 Four variable directly influence interest:
 Conflict
 Complexity
 Novelty
 Uncertainty
 Self-efficacy is directly related to all four of these, so self-efficacy
indirectly influences interest through 4 variables… quadratically.
 Uncertainty plays the biggest role in interest.
Self-efficacy affects uncertainty: “How will the activity end up?”
 If ADHD children have interest in an activity, it leads us to think that
they might have a better chance at improving their attention for that
activity.
What research says…
Fuzzy dart test – skill test, try to hit target
with dart at various distances.
 distance was adjusted at varying length for different groups, as
well as varying the lengths for another group.
 interest decreased when it got too easy.
 those put in the moderate difficulty condition were most
interested in repeating the task.
 those who were placed farthest from the target agreed that it
would be more interesting if the line was moved closer to the
target.
What research says…
7
6
difficulty
5
4
confidence
3
2
interest
1
low
moderate
high
What research says…
Self-Efficacy and LD Study
 Comorbidity and similarity of LD to ADHD.
 One study compared the self-efficacy of LD students and Normal
students, with regards to measures of high or low ability (IQ).
 In general, those with LD had lower self-efficacy than normal
students.
 Q: If a student has a learning disability, but has a high ability
(IQ), would they have a higher self-efficacy?
 A: This study showed that LD students who had high ability
actually had the lowest self-efficacy of all in the study.
Why is this? It’s suggested that this is due to the ‘label’ of being
LD, but the study did not have evidence of this.
So now we know…
What Self-Efficacy is…
What ADHD is…
How they affect each other…
What research has to say about it
Now I’m sure you are asking yourself
How can I use this information?!
How can I use this information?!
5 strategies for Enhancing Self-Efficacy
 Emotional and Physiological arousal
 Relaxation techniques, calming fears
 Verbal Persuasion
 encouragement, convince them
success is result of self.
 Vicarious Experiences
 observation of modeled behaviors
 Imagined Experience
 imagining yourself in the experience
 Performance Experience
 actual practice of the activity, “Practice makes perfect!”
Maddux (1995)
How can I use this information?!
WHO can use this information…
 Educators and Parents
 Children
 School Psychologists
 Discuss ways that people in each of
these areas might apply this information to
their settings…
How can I use this information?!
 Educators and Parents can use child guided learning:
 Use suggestions from the child when planning lessons
 Use interests of children to create ‘centers’ tailored to interests
 Gauge level of help needed from teacher according to student:
Use the Zone of Proximal Development theory from Vygotsky, which
says to help students only as it is needed…
 Exercises that not only encourage learning, but show students
success – give them feedback that shows them what they have
accomplished… not what they have left to learn.
 Utilize books and projects created specially for these issues:
 Publisher Sopris-West has books adapted from the author Louis
L’amour that start out exciting and are reading level appropriate.They
are revised to help a student feel confident/successful, without
embarassing them about reading books for ‘little kids’.
How can I use this information?!
 Suggestions for Children:
 Concentrate on attributing success to self, not from others.
 Use tracking logs to observe successes and find interests. Can use
logs for numerous issues, such as alertness, behavior, effort…
Level of performance
Example: Performance Log
Time
Schedule/Activity
8:00-8:30 am
Reading time – read 2 pgs
8:30-9:00 am
Math Class – seat work
9:00-9:30 am
Math Class – group work
Great
Good
Not so
Good
X
X
X
RESOURCES
All Kinds of Minds, by Mel Levine
 Books and article links on site: www.allkindsofminds.com
Video called “Too much attention” at this link:
http://www.allkindsofminds.com/articleDisplay.aspx?articleI
D=6&categoryID=0
 Books made to help children feel more successful:
Sopris-West Products: www.sopriswest.com
 For those who are interested in research on this topic,
these theorists are a good place to start:
 Vygotsky
 Bandura
James E. Maddux
Websites:
RESOURCES
 Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (CHADD)
http://www.chadd.org
 Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD)
http://www.cldinternational.org
 The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), Division of Learning
Disabilities (DLD)
http://www.cec.sped.org
 All Kinds of Minds, by Dr. Mel Levine
http://www.allkindsofminds.com
 Sopris West Educational Services
http://www.sopriswest.com
REFERENCES
Barkley, R. A., Edwards, G., Laneri, M., Fletcher, K., Metevia, L. (2001) The Efficacy of Problem-Solving
Communication Training Alone, Behavior Management Training Alone, and Their Combination for Parent–
Adolescent Conflict in Teenagers With ADHD and ODD, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology Volume:
69, Issue: 6, 926-941.
Dunn and Shapiro, (1999) Gender Differences in the Achievement Goal Orientations of ADHD children, Cognitive
Therapy and Research, 23, No.3, 327-344.
J.W. Santrock, (2003) Children, 7th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
Jacobs, Lanza, Osgood, Eccles, and Wigfield, (2002) Changes in Children’s Self-Competence and Values:
Gender and Domain Differences across Grades one through Twelve, Child Development, 73:2, 509-527
Jamner, Henker, Delfino, and Lozano, (2002) The ADHD Spectrum and Everyday Life: Experience Sampling of
Adolescent Moods, Activities, Smoking, and Drinking, Whalen, Child Development, Vol 73, No 1, 209-227.
Levine, M. (2002). A Mind At A Time. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Maddux, J. E. (Ed). (1995). Self-Efficacy, Adaptation, and Adjustment; Theory, Research, and Application. New
York: Plenum.
Mash, Eric J. and Barkley, Russell A. (2003). Childhood Mood Disorders. In Mash, Eric J. and Barkley, Russell A.
Child Psychopathology, Second Edition (pp.233-278). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Mash, Eric J. and Barkley, Russell A., (2003) Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, In Mash, Eric J. and Barkley,
Russell A. Child Psychopathology, Second Edition (pp.75-143). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Vance, Costin and Maruff , (2002) Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, combined type (ADHD-CT): differences
in blood pressure due to posture and the child report of anxiety, , European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 11, 2430.
CONTACT ME
 Questions for Me? Contact me at:
mlsommer@kent.edu
330-672-9050
www.mcs.kent.edu/~mtackett/psyc