Student Teachers\u27 Explicit and Implicit Perceptions of Attention-Defici t/H yperacti vi ty Disorder

This study examined student teachers\u27 explicit and implicit perceptions of ADHD and the relationship between perceptions of ADHD and social desirability. In addition, the relationship between a current measure of implicit perceptions of ADHD and one that was adapted for this study was also investigated. Findings indicate that student teachers view a student portrayed as exhibiting symptoms consistent with ADHD more negatively than a normal child in terms of their self-reported first impressions of the child as well as their predictions for the child\u27s future success. Participants\u27 perceptions, as measured by two implicit measures, however, were mixed, with results from one measure indicative of neutral attitudes toward ADHD, while results from another measure were suggestive of an implicit attitude bias against ADHD behaviors. Overall, social desirability did not appear to be meaningfully associated with student teachers\u27 implicit or explicit perceptions of ADHD. The key findings seem to indicate that student teachers generally exhibit more negative perceptions of stereotypical ADHD behaviors than normal behaviors. Two measures of student teachers\u27 implicit perceptions of ADHD were not significantly related