Abstract:

Aim:
The aim of this study was to investigate the nature of the relationship between ADHD, Positive Illusory Bias (PIB), and perception of school achievement by comparing a group of secondary school children with ADHD with a group of healthy children.

Material and Method:
The sample consisted of 122 children, divided into an ADHD group versus a control group – in both groups a total of 74 boys, 48 girls, ranging in age from 10 to 14 years (mean age 10.78 years, SD = 0.82 years). The perceived estimate of school achievement in selected subjects by children with ADHD was compared with that of non-ADHD children. The discrepancy between how children estimated their school achievement and their average grades in the subjects was used as a measure of the presence of a positive illusory bias effect.

Results:
Significant differences were found in the following parameters: differences in grades between non-ADHD children and children with ADHD were statistically significant in both the Czech language (p < .05) and Mathematics (p < .05). The difference between subjective self-concept in Mathematics and objective grade in that subject between the group of healthy children (N=67) and children with ADHD (N=48) was statistically significant (p < .05). The difference between the subtest of reading (p < .05), orthography (p < .05), writing (p < .05) and the grade in Czech language also proved statistically significant. Differences were also found between the grade in Mathematics and the subtest of general ability (p < .05) and the subtest of self-confidence (p < .05).

Conclusion:
Our results showed a significant difference between the perception of the school achievement, with ADHD children overestimating their abilities, while non-ADHD children tend to underestimate their abilities. We hypothesize that PIB may represent one of the characteristics of children with ADHD. Children with ADHD show the presence of PIB. The discrepancy between their self-concept of school abilities and an objective measure of school grades is positive, i.e., these children overestimate their abilities. In contrast, in non-ADHD children, the discrepancy between their self-concept of school achievement and the objective measure is negative, i.e., these children tend to underestimate themselves. The differences between ADHD and non-ADHD children are statistically significant in eight of the ten domains examined. The PIB phenomenon can therefore be considered confirmed.

Keywords:

Positive illusory bias, secondary school, academic success, ADHD.