Motivational differences among students with ADHD, reading disabilities, combined groups, and typical comparisons
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess reading motivational differences of students with reading disabilities/difficulties (RD), attention deficit hyperactive disorders/at-risk for ADHD, combined groups (RD+ADHD), and non-disabled comparisons (ND). Most motivational research has made academic motivational comparisons with typical students without contrasting disability groups and without examining specific types of academic motivation. To these purposes, we recruited 133 students from 2nd to 5th grades and administered The Motivation for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ) and The Reading Activity Inventory (RAI). Major findings were that children with RD had lower reading motivation (intrinsic, extrinsic, social motivation, and self-efficacy) and read less for enjoyment than students without disabilities. Thus in this study, poor reading skill specifically predicted poor reading motivation. On the other hand, children with RD plus ADHD were equivalent to peers in extrinsic and social motivation, indicating that ADHD characteristics may be a protective factor for students with RD up to the 4 th grade. That is, if educators provide social reading experiences and use extrinsic rewards, it could offset the lack of reading motivation documented by the 5th grade for students with RD and with ADHD relative to typical comparisons. These modifications could improve social and academic outcomes.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Zentall, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Special education
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