FOCUS

Study objective was to examine the relationships among self-reported attentional problems, executive dysfunction, anxiety, and depression among undergraduate students.
Participants were 313 undergraduate students enrolled in introductory psychology courses from January to April 2014. Data was gathered through a web-based survey. Participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory – II, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale – IV, and Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the relationships among study variables. All variables were highly correlated, with the strongest relationship being between attention problems and executive dysfunction. While anxiety did not show a significant indirect effect on this relationship, depression showed a suppressive effect.