Exploring Curiosity and Hyperfocus within the context of ADHD
ABSTRACT: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is often framed as a deficit, yet emerging theoretical research suggests it may be inseparable from some of the most powerful drivers of human curiosity and discovery. Of particular importance are college students with ADHD, who represent one of the fastest-growing disability subgroups in higher education, yet continue to face significant barriers to degree completion. This dissertation pursues two aims: (1) characterizing how ADHD prevalence in postsecondary education has shifted over the past two decades, and (2) empirically test the Hypercuriosity Hypothesis, which proposes that high Trait Curiosity may partially account for hallmark ADHD characteristics including distractibility, impulsivity, and Hyperfocus. My first study drew on nationally representative longitudinal datasets from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) and Beginning Postsecondary Student Study (BPS), revealing a tenfold increase in students reporting ADHD as their primary disability since the year 2000. Notable demographic shifts included a reversal in gender ratios and a quadrupling of Hispanic student representation within the ADHD population. Students with ADHD consistently underperformed academically, earning fewer credits and dropping out at higher rates without completing a college degree than their peers. My second study provided the first empirical examination of the Hypercuriosity Hypothesis among 352 adults balanced across ADHD and non-ADHD groups. Correlations reveal partial support for links between curiosity measures and ADHD symptomology. Further, interest- and deprivation-type curiosity explained significant variation in students’ propensity to Hyperfocus, providing preliminary support for curiosity's role in ADHD symptomatology. Taken together, the relationship between ADHD and curiosity is neither linear nor straightforward. Further research is needed to fully disentangle how curiosity both drives and complicates the ADHD experience.
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