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The Homework Problems Checklist: Psychometric Properties and Usefulness in teens with and without ADHD

School Mental Health volume 15, pages 260–271 (2023)Cite this article

Abstract

Homework problems are frequently encountered, especially among youth with ADHD. The Homework Problems Checklist (HPC) is a parent-rated questionnaire to assess homework problems that was studied with children but not extensively with teens. We assessed the psychometric properties of the HPC with teens with and without ADHD. Firstly, the factor structures from previous studies were fitted on a large representative Dutch teen community sample (N = 991; 10–18 years), and one Dutch (N = 118; 12–16 years) and two American (N = 348; 10–14 years, N = 180; 13–17 years) samples with teens diagnosed with ADHD. Secondly, homework problems of the community sample and the samples of teens with ADHD were compared. Thirdly, the effects of age and sex on homework problems were tested. The results indicated that 1) a two-factor (1. Completion and 2. Management) model fitted the data adequately. Coefficients of congruence confirmed equal factor structures in the samples. 2) The samples with teens with ADHD had more homework problems than the community sample, and among those teens with ADHD the US samples had more homework problems than the Dutch sample. 3) In the community sample, older teens showed fewer homework completion problems than younger teens. Moreover, homework management problems decreased with age in females but not in males. Sex- and age effects for teens with ADHD were minimal. Raw and percentile scores of the community sample are provided. In sum, the HPC can be used to establish the severity and nature of homework problems in teens. In teens without ADHD, particularly females, homework problems decrease with age, but for teens with ADHD, homework problems persist during adolescence.

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Notes

  1. Note that we chose the terms ‘sex’, ‘male’ and ‘female’ because we only had information about participants’ biological sex, and not about their gender identity.

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Acknowledgements

Marieke de Vries and the data collection for the Community Sample were supported by Research Priority Area Yield (https://yield.uva.nl/). Funding for the US samples was provided by a grant awarded to Steve W. Evans from the National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH082864) and the Institute for Educational Sciences (R305A140356). The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the funding agencies. Funding for the Dutch sample was provided by the Dutch Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMW) grant (#15700095007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga, 43500, Semenyih, Malaysia

    Marieke de Vries

  2. Clinical Psychology, Psychology and Educational Sciences, Louvain, KU, Belgium

    Saskia van der Oord

  3. Leuven Brain Institute, Louvain, Belgium

    Saskia van der Oord

  4. Center for Intervention Research in Schools, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA

    Steven W. Evans

  5. Lehigh University, Bethlehem, USA

    George J. DuPaul

  6. Clinical Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

    Bianca E. Boyer

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  1. Marieke de Vries
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Correspondence to Marieke de Vries.

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de Vries, M., van der Oord, S., Evans, S.W. et al. The Homework Problems Checklist: Psychometric Properties and Usefulness in teens with and without ADHD. School Mental Health 15, 260–271 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-022-09548-9

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Keyword

  • ADHD Homework Problems Psychometric Properties