Abstract

The paper examines teachers’ assessment of the symptoms of attention deficit, impulsivity and hyperactivity related to ADHD among elementary school students, the characteristics of class teachers and students and the relationship between them. Class teachers evaluated 242 students of all grades from 26 elementary schools evenly spread across four counties of the Republic of Croatia, in whom they detected four or more symptoms of inattention. Two scales were used: Checklist (Merrell and Tymms) and two dimensions of the Vanderbilt scale: inattention and impulsivity/hyperactivity. The correlation between class teacher characteristics (a greater number of weekly teaching hours and a higher level of assessed need for additional help in students’ learning and/or supporting behaviour problems) and the investigated dimensions was established by a correlation analysis. Furthermore, a lower degree of the self-assessed relationship with the student is associated with a higher level of hyperactivity/impulsivity incidence. Also, the school’s academic achievement and material status of the students’ parents are related to the higher estimation of symptoms of inattention and impulsivity hyperactivity. The students’ lower academic achievement is associated with a higher level of the teachers’ assessment of inattention, and higher academic achievement with a higher level of impulsivity-hyperactivity symptoms. The need for additional help in students’ learning has been associated with the increased levels of inattention, while the need for additional help in supporting behaviour is associated with all three symptoms.