Assessing the impact of ADHD coaching services on university students’ learning skills, self-regulation, and well-being

Abstract

The effects of coaching on learning and study skills, self-regulation, and subjective well-being of students with ADHD attending 2- and 4-year colleges or universities was examined. Students were randomly assigned to participate in coaching or comparison groups. Coaching students received weekly phone-based coaching sessions and additional check-ins from the coaches. Students' learning, study, and self-regulation skills were measured by use of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI). The College Well-Being Scale (Field, Parker, Sawilowsky & Rolands, 2010) was used to measure participants' well-being. The coaching group had a statistically significant higher total LASSI score and statistically significant higher scores on all three LASSI clusters (i.e., Skill, Will, and Self-Regulation) than the comparison group. Well-Being scores were statistically significantly higher for students in coaching than for comparison group students, when corrected for initial differences in executive functioning. Coaching was highly effective in helping students improve their learning and executive functioning skills.