The results of the present study are consistent with the authors' previously reported major findings. They strongly suggest that children with ADHD are at significantly higher risk for a specific negative course marked by antisocial and substance-related disorders.

Childhood ADHD predicts specific adult psychiatric disorders, namely antisocial and drug abuse disorders. In the adolescent outcome of this cohort, we found that these disturbances were dependent on the continuation of ADHD symptoms. In contrast, in adulthood, antisocial and drug disorders appeared, in part, independent of sustained ADHD. In addition, regardless of psychiatric status, ADHD placed children at relative risk for educational and vocational disadvantage. The results do not support a relationship between childhood ADHD and adult mood or anxiety disorders.

No abstract

Retrospective diagnoses of childhood ADHD made on the basis of self-reports will in most cases be invalid in settings such as epidemiological surveys and primary care facilities. Greater accuracy can be expected in settings in which childhood ADHD is frequent. The results stress the importance of obtaining contemporaneous information on childhood symptoms in establishing a childhood history of ADHD. Future directions and implications for DSM-V are discussed.