the prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms and its association with sluggish cognitive tempo in students

abstract aim and background: the aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of adhd symptoms and its association with sluggish cognitive tempo (sct) among freshmen of ferdowsi university of mashhad. methods and materials: the statistical population of this descriptive cross-sectional study, was all freshmen (3272 students) of ferdowsi university of mashhad by census method completed the barkley adult adhd rating scale (baars). the data were analysed using z scores, chi-square, and pearson correlation test. findings: the results showed that the prevalence of attention deficit, hyperactivity and impulsivity were 192 (5.9 percent), 281 (8.6 percent), and 189 (5.8 percent), respectively. in other words, according to total scores of baars, 217 (6.6 percent) of all university freshmen (100 females and 117 males) suffering from adhd. in addition, comparing to hyperactivity and impulsivity the results of correlation analysis showed that there was a higher correlation between attention deficit and sluggish cognitive tempo (r=0.73). conclusions: the high prevalence of adhd symptoms among students, showed that the necessity of prevention and treatment programs for this disorder.