2025 Volume 75 Issue 2 Pages 179-188
Objective: This study aimed to clarify the attitudes of medical university students regarding supporting students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) characteristics.
Methods: An anonymous web survey was administered to approximately 200 medical university students in their third or fourth year majoring in nursing or occupational therapy.
Results: A total of 129 valid responses were analyzed. Approximately 60％ of the students correctly understood ADHD characteristics. Some respondents had images of ADHD characteristics, perceiving having ADHD as being “restless, odd, and rude.” On the other hand, the perception that individuals with ADHD characteristics are “not scary” and “should not be criticized” was associated with attitudes toward support. Significant differences were observed in attitudes regarding supporting students with ADHD characteristics in terms of empathy toward the problems they face, such as “often being forgetful,” and supportive actions undertaken by respondents, such as “confirming submission deadlines with such students.”
Discussion: The results showed that the positive attitudes of medical university students toward supporting students with ADHD characteristics were related to their images of ADHD behavioral characteristics and their support for students with ADHD-related problems based on empathy, rather than their knowledge of ADHD behavioral characteristics.
