Cognitive Flexibility and Coping Skills as Predictors of Academic Resilience in Children with ADHD

Abstract

Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) face continuous challenges in maintaining attention, regulating impulses, and managing emotions, which often affects their academic engagement and performance. Recent research emphasizes academic resilience—the capacity to recover and remain motivated despite difficulties—as a vital factor for academic success in ADHD populations. This review synthesizes empirical findings on two core predictors of academic resilience: cognitive flexibility and coping skills. Cognitive flexibility enables children to shift perspectives and adapt strategies in response to challenges, while coping skills transform these cognitive adjustments into sustained behavioral and emotional regulation. The review integrates evidence from global and emerging studies, highlighting that these constructs are malleable through intervention. Training programs that strengthen flexibility and coping, when combined with pharmacological or environmental supports, can significantly enhance resilience in children with ADHD. Future research should adopt longitudinal and neurocognitive approaches to clarify developmental mechanisms and optimize intervention design.