Individuals who have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience symptoms that interfere with their daily functioning, concentration, and performance at school, at home, in the workplace, and in social settings. Previous research has been conducted into the effects of background music on various facets of learning, mostly with populations of children and individuals without ADHD. The focus in this clinical research project was to examine the relationship between background music and symptomatology in 18 adult students between the ages of 18 and 26 years who had been diagnosed with any type of ADHD. Results did not indicate significance toward the primary hypothesis that those who completed a learning task while listening to background music would report fewer symptoms of ADHD after the task compared to those who completed the task in silence. However, several patterns from ANCOVA analyses indicated significance toward the secondary hypothesis that gender differences would affect individuals’ perception and endorsement of ADHD symptomatology. Female participants consistently reported greater ADHD symptomatology than male participants. From the findings of this study, it is recommended that mental health clinicians use caution when diagnosing and treating ADHD across the age and gender spectrums.
","abstract_html":"<p>Individuals who have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience symptoms that interfere with their daily functioning, concentration, and performance at school, at home, in the workplace, and in social settings. Previous research has been conducted into the effects of background music on various facets of learning, mostly with populations of children and individuals without ADHD. The focus in this clinical research project was to examine the relationship between background music and symptomatology in 18 adult students between the ages of 18 and 26 years who had been diagnosed with any type of ADHD. Results did not indicate significance toward the primary hypothesis that those who completed a learning task while listening to background music would report fewer symptoms of ADHD after the task compared to those who completed the task in silence. However, several patterns from ANCOVA analyses indicated significance toward the secondary hypothesis that gender differences would affect individuals’ perception and endorsement of ADHD symptomatology. Female participants consistently reported greater ADHD symptomatology than male participants. From the findings of this study, it is recommended that mental health clinicians use caution when diagnosing and treating ADHD across the age and gender spectrums.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Spiewak, Michelle L"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Clinical Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Bradley Olson","Emese Vitalis","Kathy Wierzchowski"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:12Z","subjects":["ADHD","gender","background music","Clinical Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/735","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Bradley Olson","Emese Vitalis","Kathy Wierzchowski"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Spiewak, Michelle L"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-05-09T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Clinical Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ADHD","gender","background music","Clinical Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/735"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Individuals who have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience symptoms that interfere with their daily functioning, concentration, and performance at school, at home, in the workplace, and in social settings. Previous research has been conducted into the effects of background music on various facets of learning, mostly with populations of children and individuals without ADHD. The focus in this clinical research project was to examine the relationship between background music and symptomatology in 18 adult students between the ages of 18 and 26 years who had been diagnosed with any type of ADHD. Results did not indicate significance toward the primary hypothesis that those who completed a learning task while listening to background music would report fewer symptoms of ADHD after the task compared to those who completed the task in silence. However, several patterns from ANCOVA analyses indicated significance toward the secondary hypothesis that gender differences would affect individuals’ perception and endorsement of ADHD symptomatology. Female participants consistently reported greater ADHD symptomatology than male participants. From the findings of this study, it is recommended that mental health clinicians use caution when diagnosing and treating ADHD across the age and gender spectrums.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Relationship Between Background Music and Symptomatology in Adults Diagnosed With ADHD"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Bradley Olson","Emese Vitalis","Kathy Wierzchowski"],"dc:creator":["Spiewak, Michelle L"],"dc:date.available":["2023-05-09T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Individuals who have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience symptoms that interfere with their daily functioning, concentration, and performance at school, at home, in the workplace, and in social settings. Previous research has been conducted into the effects of background music on various facets of learning, mostly with populations of children and individuals without ADHD. The focus in this clinical research project was to examine the relationship between background music and symptomatology in 18 adult students between the ages of 18 and 26 years who had been diagnosed with any type of ADHD. Results did not indicate significance toward the primary hypothesis that those who completed a learning task while listening to background music would report fewer symptoms of ADHD after the task compared to those who completed the task in silence. However, several patterns from ANCOVA analyses indicated significance toward the secondary hypothesis that gender differences would affect individuals’ perception and endorsement of ADHD symptomatology. Female participants consistently reported greater ADHD symptomatology than male participants. From the findings of this study, it is recommended that mental health clinicians use caution when diagnosing and treating ADHD across the age and gender spectrums.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/735"],"dc:subject":["ADHD","gender","background music","Clinical Psychology"],"dc:title":["The Relationship Between Background Music and Symptomatology in Adults Diagnosed With ADHD"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Clinical Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:12Z"}