Characteristics of Inattention and Hyperactivity, Perception of General Health, and Reading Literacy of Japanese Adolescents: Results from a Large-scale Community Sample

Abstract

Adolescents with reading literacy difficulty with comorbid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are often at a greater risk for problems of communication, and behavioral and mental health challenges. We aimed to examine literacy weakness for the native Japanese language of KOKUGO and the foreign language of ENGLISH as perceived by Japanese adolescents. We also aimed to analyze the relationship between literacy weakness and inattention and hyperactivity characteristics. We conducted a largescale questionnaire survey of 2987 junior high school students. We used logistic regression analysis to examine the data from the self-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the General Health Questionnaire-12, and adolescents’ perceptions of their command of KOKUGO and ENGLISH. We found a significant association between perceived literacy for both languages and SDQ inattention and hyperactivity characteristics. Reading difficulties in ENGLISH may be addressed by introducing ENGLISH at an earlier age supported by clinically enhanced pedagogy.