GENDER AS MODERATOR AND AGE AS MEDIATOR VARIABLES IN PREDICTION OF SCHOOL ADJUSTMENT BY SELF-EVALUTED SYMPTOMS OF ADHD

The aim of the research was to examine the moderating role of gender and the mediating role of age in predicting the school adjustment by self-evaluating the symptoms of ADHD. The study included 501 students from higher grades of primary school, out of which 50.7% were boys, and the average age was 12.72. They completed Hyperactivity-impulsivity-attention Scale, Self-efficacy Questionnaire for Children, and were given some general information. Research showed that gender had only main effect on the school success, meaning that being female predicted a better school success. Age had completely mediating role for symptoms of hyperactivity and a school success (i.e., as the students’ age increases, there is no correlation between hyperactivity and the school success), and a partial mediating role for symptoms of inattention and both measures of school adjustment (i.e., as the students’ age increases the correlation among symptoms of inattention and academic self-efficacy and school success become weaker).