The research team, led by Mpho Mpetha of the Community Psychosocial Research unit at North-West University, together with Curwyn Mapaling, Frans Koketso Matlakala and Herman Grobler, set out to explore the psychosocial wellbeing of students with self-reported ADHD symptoms at a large, resource-constrained South African institution. Rather than measuring symptoms with questionnaires, the researchers chose an exploratory qualitative case study design, a method that privileges depth over breadth and allows participants to describe their lived experiences in their own words. Twelve self-identified students took part in online semi-structured interviews, a format that proved particularly well suited to a population that often struggles with the scheduling and sensory demands of in-person research settings.

The interviews were analysed using inductive thematic analysis, a technique in which researchers repeatedly read the transcripts and allow patterns, or themes, to emerge from the data itself rather than testing predetermined hypotheses. This bottom-up approach is especially valuable in under-researched populations, because it avoids forcing participants’ accounts into categories imported from other contexts. From the twelve interviews, three major themes crystallised: the role of institutional support systems and lecturers, the impact of virtual classes and adaptive teaching methods, and the participants’ own recommendations for strengthening psychosocial wellbeing on campus.

The first theme reveals how heavily students with attention-related challenges depend on the attitudes and flexibility of individual lecturers. Participants described encounters with teaching staff who understood their difficulties and made small but meaningful accommodations, alongside experiences of lecturers who dismissed their struggles or treated requests for flexibility as laziness. In resource-constrained institutions, where counselling centres are often understaffed and waiting lists are long, the classroom itself becomes the de facto frontline of support. When a lecturer is willing to repeat instructions, extend deadlines or communicate clearly, the difference can determine whether a student stays enrolled or quietly drops out. The study suggests that this dependence on individual goodwill is fragile and inequitable, and that support should instead be embedded in institutional policy.

The second theme highlights an unexpected legacy of the pandemic era: online and hybrid teaching. For many students with ADHD symptoms, virtual classes were a double-edged sword. Recorded lectures allowed them to pause, rewind and revisit material at moments when their attention lapsed, a form of adaptive teaching that traditional lecture halls rarely permit. Some participants found that learning from home reduced the sensory overload and social distractions of crowded campuses. Yet others reported that the absence of structure made self-regulation even harder, with the blurred boundary between study and rest spaces undermining already strained time-management skills. The findings indicate that universities should not abandon the adaptive practices developed during remote teaching, but rather integrate them deliberately into mainstream course design.

The third and perhaps most actionable theme consists of the students’ own recommendations. Far from presenting themselves as passive recipients of care, participants proposed a series of practical strategies. These included formal student–lecturer evaluation mechanisms that would hold teaching staff accountable for accessible instruction, campus-wide mental health education campaigns to reduce stigma and improve early identification, and adjustments to timetables and class structures to accommodate fluctuating attention and concentration. Participants also emphasised the importance of prioritising rest and developing time-management skills, suggesting that wellbeing support should address daily routines as well as academic accommodations.

Underlying all three themes is a stark reality about access. The study notes that students at resource-constrained institutions are frequently stigmatised and cannot access campus support services timeously, meaning that help arrives too late or not at all. Stigma operates on multiple levels: students may fear being labelled by peers, judged by lecturers, or penalised administratively if they disclose their symptoms. This reluctance to seek help compounds the emotional burden of ADHD symptoms, which the researchers describe as increasingly affecting students’ emotional wellbeing. In the South African context, where university mental health services are stretched across large and diverse student populations, the gap between need and provision is particularly wide.

The researchers frame their findings through an ecological perspective, a lens that locates individual wellbeing within nested layers of environment, from the immediate classroom to institutional policy and broader social attitudes. From this viewpoint, ADHD is not merely a neurological characteristic of individual students but a condition whose academic and emotional consequences are amplified or softened by the systems surrounding them. A university that builds inclusive support systems, trains its lecturers, normalises conversations about mental health and designs flexible learning environments effectively reduces the disability burden experienced by its students, even if the underlying symptoms remain unchanged. This reframing carries significant implications for how higher education institutions allocate resources and design policy.

The study’s contribution extends beyond a single campus. By documenting the experiences of students with self-reported ADHD symptoms in an African university setting, the research addresses a notable gap in a literature dominated by studies from high-income countries. It also feeds into interdisciplinary conversations on mental health and academic inclusion in higher education, connecting psychology, disability studies and education policy. The authors argue that their findings underscore the need for inclusive support systems that recognise attention-related challenges and can inform institutional practice and policy, both in South Africa and in comparable contexts where student mental health services remain underdeveloped.

Methodologically, the study was approved by the North-West University Health Research Ethics Committee under approval number 00214-21-A1, and written informed consent was obtained from all participants before their involvement. The researchers received no specific grant or funding from any public, commercial or not-for-profit funding agency, and they declare no competing interests. The article was published open access on 22 September 2026 in Discover Psychology, following acceptance on 18 September 2026 after submission on 1 April 2026, making the findings freely available to educators, policymakers and researchers worldwide. As universities everywhere grapple with rising demand for mental health support, the voices of these twelve South African students offer a clear message: inclusion is not a luxury to be added when resources allow, but a design principle that determines whether vulnerable students thrive or fall through the cracks.

Subject of Research: Psychosocial wellbeing and institutional support experiences of South African university students with self-reported ADHD symptoms.

Article Title: Psychosocial wellbeing and support among South African university students with self reported ADHD symptoms

Article References: Mpetha, M., Mapaling, C., Matlakala, F. K., & Grobler, H. (2026). Psychosocial wellbeing and support among South African university students with self reported ADHD symptoms. Discover Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-026-00908-z

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s44202-026-00908-z

Keywords: ADHD, university students, psychosocial wellbeing, mental health, higher education, South Africa, qualitative research, academic inclusion, stigma, student support services, adaptive teaching, ecological perspective