Cross-sectional Uzbek school study links coping, support to high ADHD symptom risk

In a cross-sectional study of 1,512 adolescents in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, greater escape–avoidance coping and stronger perceived support from a significant other were associated with classification at high risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms rather than medium risk. The study used a research screening procedure, not clinical ADHD diagnosis, and its results do not show that either psychological characteristic causes elevated symptoms or predicts a future diagnosis.

The researchers studied adolescents aged 12–14 years in grades 7 and 8 at three state general education schools. The study-specific screening classification combined information from adolescents, parents or legal guardians, and teachers. Of the 1,512 participants, 1,152, or 76.19%, were classified as being at low ADHD symptom risk; 255, or 16.87%, at medium risk; and 105, or 6.94%, at high risk, with a 95% confidence interval of 5.77% to 8.34% for the high-risk group. The multi-informant procedure was intended to identify adolescents who might warrant further psychological assessment or support, but its classifications cannot be interpreted as specialist diagnoses.

Risk level was not significantly associated with sex or age. The chi-square test for sex yielded χ²(2) = 0.90, p = 0.636, and Cramer’s V = 0.024, while the test for age yielded χ²(4) = 2.04, p = 0.729, and Cramer’s V = 0.026. Participants completed self-report measures of emotional intelligence, self-regulation, coping strategies, and perceived social support. After descriptive statistics and candidate-variable comparisons, the researchers fitted a binary logistic regression comparing adolescents currently classified as high risk with those classified as medium risk. Because the data were collected at one point, the model describes contemporaneous associations rather than symptom changes, developmental trajectories, or causal effects.

Escape–avoidance coping had the strongest adjusted association in the high-versus-medium comparison, with an odds ratio of 4.47 and a 95% confidence interval of 3.25 to 6.14. Perceived support from a significant other was also associated with high-risk classification, with an odds ratio of 2.62 and a 95% confidence interval of 1.81 to 3.80. Age and sex were not associated with the comparison in the adjusted model. These estimates indicate how strongly each measured characteristic was associated with the odds of high-risk rather than medium-risk classification; they do not represent diagnostic accuracy, individual risk probabilities, or evidence that the measures can identify a particular adolescent as having clinical ADHD. The model diagnostics were reported descriptively and did not externally validate a clinical prediction tool.

Several design features limit the conclusions. The sample came from only three schools in Tashkent, so the findings describe the studied setting rather than all adolescents in Uzbekistan. The screening procedure was specific to the research, and the supplied results do not provide the item-level or informant-specific detail needed to evaluate how individual reports contributed to each classification. In addition, the psychological characteristics were self-reported, whereas the ADHD symptom-risk classification drew on multiple informants. Cross-sectional data also cannot determine whether escape–avoidance coping and perceived support preceded, followed, or arose alongside elevated symptom risk. The authors identified these measures as possible targets for future research on school-based psychological support and called for more detailed item-level, informant-specific, and school-context data. Even so, the study’s clearest result is a pair of measured associations distinguishing high-risk from medium-risk classifications in this sample, not a causal account of ADHD symptoms or a validated clinical screening method.

Subject of Research: Psychological correlates of high ADHD symptom-risk classification among Uzbek adolescents

Article Title: Psychological markers associated with ADHD symptom-risk classification among adolescents in Uzbekistan: a school-based cross-sectional study

Article References: kizi Tursunova, D. A., Rakhimmirzaev, S. B., & Mukhamedova, D. G. (2026). Psychological markers associated with ADHD symptom-risk classification among adolescents in Uzbekistan: a school-based cross-sectional study. BMC Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05545-8

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-05545-8

Keywords: ADHD symptom risk, adolescents, Uzbekistan, school-based study, cross-sectional study, escape-avoidance coping, perceived social support, multi-informant screening, psychological assessment, Psychological, markers, associated