To Örebro University

BACKGROUND: Youth with neurodevelopmental disorders are at risk for school failure, but little is known about the contextual factors influencing academic achievement.

AIMS: Drawing on a bioecological system framework, we examined how ADHD and autism, parental educational attainment and aspects of the parent-child relationship influence educational achievement at the end of primary school, and to what extent these factors have independent as opposed to interactive effects on educational achievement. SAMPLE: A total of 12,477 twins born 1994-2005 from Sweden.

METHODS: ADHD and autism were assessed at age nine with a structured telephone interview with parents. Among participants, n = 996 and n = 249 met screening criteria for ADHD and autism, respectively. At age 15, data on parent-child relationships and parental educational attainment were gathered. Children's school grades and eligibility for upper secondary school were obtained from a register, and used as main outcome measures. Multiple regression models with interaction terms were used to explore if the effects of family-related factors differed in students with or without ADHD or autism.

RESULTS: ADHD or autism was associated with low academic achievement, as were all the family-related variables in multiple regression models (all p < .005). However, there was no statistical evidence (all p > .005) that the influence of family-related variables differed (i.e., were either less or more important in the prediction of educational achievement) in students with or without ADHD or autism.

CONCLUSIONS: Results were in keeping with a bioecological model of non-interacting multiple risks for educational underachievement in students with ADHD and/or autism.