ABSTRACT
Men and women diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as children can enter the U.S. Army, within certain constraints. The purpose of this research was to identify service members attending Army Health Care Specialist (HCS) Advanced Individual Training (AIT) who scored above, and below, adult norms on ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) self-rating scales, and to examine each group’s academic history, past life events, and grade point average (GPA) during HCS training. Results revealed those scoring above adult norms on current ADHD symptoms of inattention, hyperactive/impulsive, and combined types reported a lower science orientation. The inattentive and combined types reported experiencing greater hardships prior to active duty (p < 0.5). Those scoring above adult norms for ODD reported a lower science orientation (p < .05). No differences for above or below norm groups were found for HCS final GPA for any of the symptom classifications, indicating that service members with symptoms of ADHD or ODD performed as well academically as those with fewer symptoms.
