College student-athletes' experience of living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A phenomenological analysis
Year: 2002
Type: dissertation
Abstract: the qualitative research method o f phenomenological analysis, six Division I college student-athletes with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) were interviewed.Three male and three female student-athletes from three universities, engaged in a variety o f sports, served as subjects.Eight major themes were revealed during the process o f phenomenological reduction: academic challenges, medication issues, difficulty balancing, lack o f understanding by others, a belief in the unfairness o f having the disorder, a belief o f not being normal, the buoyancy effect o f sport, and self-monitoring/intemal dialogues.Student-athletes reported academic difficulties as a result o f their ADHD.Regardless o f whether o r not they currently took medication, all o f those interviewed were in some way affected by this choice.Each student-athlete experienced difficulty balancing the academic, athletic, and social components o f their lives.Those interviewed felt that other people did not frilly understand what impact ADHD had upon their lives.Student-athletes in this analysis reported a feeling o f unfairness in having to live with the disorder.As a result o f ADHD, each felt that s/he was not normal or different from peers.Subjects benefited from their participation in athletics, and this athlete identity helped to build self-esteem eroded by their disorder.Student-athletes interviewed also engaged in a process o f self talk and self-analysis, which helped them to monitor their own thoughts and actions.Results from this analysis have implications for both student-athletes with ADHD, and for the people who work with and interact with these individuals.This includes academic advisors, mental health service providers, instructors, and coaches.
Source: The Mathematics Enthusiast
Author: Charles G. Palmer
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2345440549