Effects of Teachers' Knowledge and Empathy on Educational Intervention for ADHD: Focused on the Mediating Effect of Empathy / 정신간호학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify how empathy mediates the relationship between teachers' knowledge of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and educational interventions. METHODS: A survey for structural equation modeling was conducted with 334 teachers from 61 schools in D and Y cities in Korea. Data were collected from April 2012 to July 2012 through self-report questionnaires using standardized instruments. The data were analyzed using SPSS Win 20 and AMOS 20, and Sobel tests were conducted to determine the significance of mediation and Bootstrapping tests to construct confidence intervals. RESULTS: Teachers' empathy provided complete mediation between teachers' knowledge and educational interventions in classrooms. Results showed that empathy contributes positively to educational interventions in ADHD by increasing understanding of children with ADHD and the situation. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of this study, teachers need to enhance their empathy towards students with ADHD to increase the effectiveness of their educational interventions for ADHD. These results suggest the importance of focusing on increasing teachers' empathy in the classroom in order to provider better education interventions for children with ADHD.