Abstract:

Objective:
Middle-school students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) overestimate their scholastic competence when using explicit self-report measures. This phenomenon is known as positive illusory bias (PIB). This study examined the relationship between age and PIB by comparing middle-school students with ADHD to a group of typically developing children.

Method:
Participants were 10 to 14-year-old children (N = 122; 74 boys and 48 girls) with and without clinical symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (mean age 10.78 years, SD = 0.82 years). The participants were divided into three subgroups based on their age. Participants completed the Children self-concept school performance questionnaire (SPAS). Middle-school students with ADHD were compared with a group of typically developing children to obtain the perceived estimation of school performance in given subjects. The discrepancy between how children estimated their school performance and average grades in the given subjects served as a measure of the positive illusory bias phenomenon presence.

Results:
In the ADHD children group, the discrepancy between the school performance self-concept and real-life grades increases with age. In the domain of spelling and writing, the self-image of ADHD children is positive concerning their grades in the Czech language. The exception is in the domain of writing, where the discrepancy decreases slightly for eleven-year-olds. Eleven- and twelve-year-old children show a positive discrepancy in all four domains examined. Significant are the differences in means between ten and twelve-year-olds in mathematics and reading skills (p < .05). In the group of typically developing children, on the contrary, we find a negative discrepancy in most cases. Ten-year-old children rate themselves worse than their teachers in all four domains, and eleven-year-old children, except for spelling, also rate themselves worse. For typically developing children, however, their self-concept is more realistic as the discrepancy is close to 0.

Conclusion:
Our results showed a significant relationship between the degree of PIB phenomenon presence and age in ADHD children. ADHD children tend to overestimate their abilities. The discrepancy between their self-concept of school abilities and school grades is positive. On the other hand, non-ADHD children tend to underestimate their abilities. For non-ADHD children, the discrepancy between their self-concept of school performance and school grades is more likely negative or close to zero.

Keywords:

Middle-school students, positive illusory bias, ADHD, cognitive functioning.