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Section III: Population Dynamics
Table 1. Select summary of characteristics and associated problems of ADHD through
the lifespan (Continued)
| Authors |
Major research findings |
| |
Early and Middle Childhood (6-12 years) |
Barkley (1998a);
Barkley et al. (1990) |
- 40-60% develop ODD
- 25-40% likely to show signs of CD
- 25% fight with peers
- 60-80% placed on a trial of stimulants
- 50% or more have had individual or family therapy
- 30-45% formal special education
|
| Barkley (1998a) |
- Mild cognitive impairments (i.e., working memory, planning, goal-directedness)
- Deficient academic achievement
- Delayed motor coordination (52%)
- Adaptive functioning (1030 points below normal)
- Increased risk for accidental injuries
- Delayed onset of language or impaired speech
- Deficient rule-governed behavior
- Greater variability of task performance
- Poor self-regulation of emotion and low frustration tolerance
- Disruptive classroom behavior
|
| |
Late Childhood and Adolescence |
| Bagwell et al. (2001) |
Persistent ADHD compared with non-ADHD youth (13-18
years of age)
- Parents report: Fewer friends, higher rates of peer rejection,
11% of ADHD teens have no close friends (vs. 1% non-ADHD group)
- Teachers report: greater peer rejection for ADHD teens
- Presence of childhood aggression lowered self-reports of social
competence, peer acceptance; parents report fewer close friendships
for ADHD teens
- Presence of CD: self reports more friends use substances, friends
are engaged in less conventional activities; parents report high rates
of disapproval of friends (64%) versus ADHD non-CD (38%) and 28% of
non-ADHD group
|
Barkley et al. (1990);
Fischer et al. (1990) |
Milwaukee study: 8-year followup of boys with ADHD
(12-20 years of age)
- 71.5% continue to meet criteria for ADHD
- 60% diagnosed with ODD
- 43% diagnosed with CD
- 10% dropped out of school vs. 0% of controls
- 29.3% failed a grade vs. 10% of controls
- 46.3% suspended vs. 15.2% of controls
- 10.6% expelled vs. 1.5% of controls
- ADHD + CD increases risk for expulsion (21.7%), suspension (67.4%),
and dropping out (13%)
- Stolen without confrontation (49.6%), firesetting (27.6%)
- 80.5% methylphenidate (36 mos.), 3.3% d-amphetamine (1.1 mos.),
19.5% pemoline (2.6 mos.), 1.6% tranquilizer (0.1 mos.), 14.6% other
psychotropic drugs (0.4 mos.)1
- 63.4% psychotherapy (16.3 mos.), 49.6% family therapy (7.2 mos.),
32.5% in learning disability classes (65.5 mos.), 35.8% in behavior
disorder classes (59.1 mos.), 16.3% speech classes (40.2 mos.)2
|
Biederman et al. (1996) |
4-year followup of boys with ADHD (6-17 years of age)
- 85% continue to have ADHD
- 15% remitted (half in childhood, half in adolescence)
|
Biederman et al. (1998) |
Adolescent and childhood ADHD (6-17 years of age)
- Adolescents higher rates of family history of ADHD
- Similar number of DSM-III-R symptoms of ADHD at baseline (8.9 for children
and 9.0 for adolescents) for both children and teens with ADHD
- Similar number of DSM-III-R symptoms of ADHD at 4-year followup for
both children and teens with ADHD
- Rates of comorbidity for children versus adolescents with ADHD
42% vs. 25% conduct disorder
54% vs. 44% major depression
46% vs. 35% multiple anxiety
46% vs. 33% oppositional defiant
22% vs. 28% dipolar disorder
3% vs. 40% substance abuse2 |
| Satterfield and Schell (1997) |
Adolescents with ADHD + oppositional and conduct
disorders (ODD/CD) vs. ADHD with no ODD/CD at greater risk for:
- Increased arrests; 50% of ADHD had a felony arrest
- Minor antisocial behaviors including aggressiveness and defiance
(indicators of CD)
|
| |
Adulthood |
| Barkley and Gordon (2002) |
Milwaukee followup study; ADHD vs. control group
(mean age 21-22 years)
- Begin sexual activity at earlier age (15 vs. 16 years)
- More sexual partners (19 vs. 7)
- Teenage pregnancy (38% vs. 4%)
- Contracted sexually transmitted disease (17% vs. 4%)
|
| Fischer et al. (2002) |
Milwaukee followup study: 13-year followup study
of ADHD children into early adulthood (mean age 21-22 years)
- Higher risk for nondrug psychiatric disorders vs. controls (59%
vs. 36%)
- More personality disorders (passive-aggressive, histrionic, borderline,
antisocial) and major depression than controls
- Childhood hyperactivity increases later risk for ASPD
- Severity of childhood conduct problems + ADHD increases risk for
ASPD
- High levels of both hyperactivity with conduct problems have greater
antisocial adult outcomes than either disorder alone
|
| Ingram et al. (1999) |
Longitudinal study of children with ADHD into
adulthood
- 7080% meet diagnostic criteria for ADHD in adolescence
- 60% continue to exhibit various symptoms in adulthood (more social,
emotional, and impulsive problems than controls) but fewer meet diagnostic
criteria
- Fewer than 10% are grossly disturbed, requiring psychiatric hospitalization
or prison
- 30-40% show fairly normal functioning
|
| Barkley and Gordon (2002) Murphy and Barkley
(1996a, 1996b); Murphy, Barkley, and Bush (2001) |
Clinic-referred adults compared to community controls
- Fired more often (53% vs. 31% controls)
- Quit jobs more frequently (48% vs. 16% controls)
- Chronic employment difficulties (77% vs. 57% controls)
- Higher scores on self-report measures of interpersonal sensitivity
and hostility
- Higher rates of divorce and remarriage, less marital satisfaction
|
1 Numbers in parentheses represent duration
of treatment. 2 Rates for children presented before adolescent
rates. Control group had 33 percent substance abuse or dependence.
Note: ASPD = antisocial personality disorder; CD = conduct disorders;
ODD = oppositional defiant disorder. |
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