Attention, Heart Rate, and Health Behavior in a College Student Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder Assessment

Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder defined by symptoms of inattention, disorganization, or hyperactivity-impulsivity. Conceptualizing ADHD requires consideration of age and gender through comparison of emotional regulation to a standard population. For this reason, there is an emerging interest in ADHD research among college student response to academic, athletic, environmental, and psycho-social pressures of college life throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This research study explored associations between behavior, self-reported anxiety using the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), self-reported ADHD tendencies using the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS v1.1), and results from the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA). Among college students (53% Men; mean age 20.03 ± 1.3 years), more women had TOVA scores not within normal limits despite self-reported ASRS results, indicating a significant difference of TOVA scores between gender, χ 2 (2, N=36) = 6.280, p =.043. Behaviorally, participants who had either self-reported severe anxiety (score 15-21 on the GAD-7), scored not within normal limits on the TOVA, or who had a positive self-screening for ADHD tendencies, had a statistically significant decrease in appetite, χ 2 (6, N=36) = 20.090, p =.003; χ 2 (4, N=36) = 16.637, p =.002; χ 2 (4, N=36) = 11.487, p =.022, respectively. In 23 college students (57% Men; mean age 20.26 ± 1.05 years), we assessed subject heart rate throughout the TOVA to determine associations in timing of physiological anxiety. Heart rate compared to TOVA response time and response time variability may represent underlying autonomic dysregulation involved in masking behavior. There was a statistically significant increase in subject heart rate during the TOVA from 65bpm ± 10bpm to 94bpm ± 14bpm (p < 0.001); an increase of 29bpm. Our results also indicate that TOVA quarter 2 heart rate statistically significantly predicts quarter 2 response time variability, F(1, 21) = 5.347, p =.031. The findings of this study provide insight into autonomic nervous system activity compared to task concentration and emotional valence seen through adjustments in micro-attention. This research study was funded through the home institution. This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2025 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.