Two-Way Crossover Study of an Organization Skills Intervention for University Freshmen

• Published in: The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology Vol. 30; no. 1; pp. 1 - 10
• Main Authors: Takeda, Toshinobu, Komasa, Hironori, Goshiki, Toru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japan Society of Developmental Psychology 2019
• Subjects: ADHD; Intervention study; Organization; Time management; University freshmen
• ISSN: 0915-9029; 2187-9346
• DOI: 10.11201/jjdp.30.1

Organization is largely categorized into materials organization and temporal organization. While university years are a period during which students can more fully express their potential, substantial changes from their high school years raise their level of vulnerability. Students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in particular are highly likely to experience a range of difficulties. In this study, an organization skills improvement program was developed for implementation eight times in the first or second semesters of university, and conducted for 10 to 15 minutes in a lecture. Its effects were verified with crossover design. Participants were 77 freshmen (males, 26). Of them, 33 underwent the program in the first semester and 19 had an ADHD trait. Generally, self-rated organization scale total scores and scores of two out of three subscales, organization difficulty and time management difficulty, showed significant improvement after the program, with some contradictory findings. In addition, the results did not support the hypothesis that persons with ADHD have poor reaction to short-term programs. There were also some fields in which significant improvements were not seen, and qualitative analysis of the effectiveness of the program has not been done. Despite these limitations, interventions aimed at supporting organization skills, especially for university students with ADHD, should be developed and optimized in the future to meet the increasing demands for such approaches.