A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of a Coaching Intervention for College Students with ADHD

Abstract

College students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at risk for poor outcomes including low academic achievement, difficulties in social functioning, and comorbid anxiety disorders. Treatment research for college students with ADHD is limited, and it is unclear if comorbid anxiety complicates or enhances treatment efforts. This study examined the acceptability and efficacy of a coaching intervention for college students with ADHD and investigated whether anxiety moderated the relationship between treatment status and psychoeducational outcomes. Twenty students were randomly assigned to an ADHD coaching treatment condition (n = 10) or a control condition (n = 10). Students who received the coaching treatment were significantly more satisfied and found the procedures significantly more acceptable compared to students in the control condition. The effects of coaching on psychoeducational outcomes over time were inconclusive, but trended in the anticipated direction with effect sizes in the small to moderate range. The results of simple moderation analyses indicated that student anxiety explains a small portion of the variance in student outcomes, with trends consistently suggesting that coaching was most impactful for college students with low anxiety. Implications of these findings are discussed along with suggestions for future research.