Late Adolescent and Young Adult Outcomes of Girls Diagnosed With ADHD in Childhood: An Exploratory Investigation

Abstract

Objective-The study aims to characterize the late adolescent and young adult outcomes of girls diagnosed with ADHD in childhood.Method-The study included 58 females from a larger longitudinal study of ADHD. Thirty-four (M=19.97 years old) met DSM criteria for ADHD in childhood, while the remaining 24 (M=19.83 years old) did not. Self-and parent-reports of psychopathology, delinquency, interpersonal relationships, academic achievement, job performance, and substance use were collected.Results-The findings suggest that girls with ADHD experience difficulties in late adolescence and young adulthood, such as more conflict with their mothers, being involved in fewer romantic relationships, and experiencing more depressive symptoms than comparison women. However, differences did not emerge in all domains, such as job performance, substance use, and selfreported ADHD symptomatology. Conclusion-The findings of this study add to the literature on the negative late adolescent and young adult outcomes associated with childhood ADHD in females.Until recently, ADHD was considered a male disorder, occurring 2 to 9 times more frequently in males than females (Barkley, 2006). Now, researchers have turned their attention to studying ADHD in girls and have found that they manifest psychopathology and impairment similar to boys (Pelham, Walker, Sturges, & Hoza, 1989; Waschbusch, King, & Northern Partners In Action for Children and Youth, 2006). However, developmental outcomes for women with ADHD remain largely unexplored. There are popular books on women with ADHD (e.g. Understanding ADHD in Women by Kathleen Nadeau and Patricia Quinn), but these books typically lack empirical support or are based on case studies of women who present with ADHD for the first time in adulthood, and whether or not they had childhood ADHD is unclear. Although both adult and child ascertained women with ADHD have been reported to experience psychopathology such as high rates of anxiety, mood and substance disorders, (Biederman et al., 2006;Quinn, 2005), some research suggests that women diagnosed in childhood experience more psychopathology and impairment than women referred for the first time in adulthood (Barkley, 2006;Biederman et al., 2004). No study, however, has explored late adolescent and young adult outcomes of girlhood ADHD Send Correspondence to: Dara Babinski, Center for Children and Families, State University of New York at Buffalo, 106 Diefendorf Hall, 3435 Main Street, Building 20, Buffalo, NY 14214, Phone: 716-829-2244x113; Fax: 716-829-3692;deb24@buffalo.edu . Two longitudinal studies have followed girls with ADHD into adolescence. In one study (Hinshaw, 2002), girls with ADHD (mean age approximately 9 years old) were found to experience more psychopathology, and social, academic, and cognitive impairment than girls without ADHD. After five years (mean age approximately 14 years old), similar problems persisted and new difficulties, including substance use and eating problems, also emerged for girls with ADHD (Hinshaw, Owens...

Similarities between emotional dysregulation in adults suffering from ADHD and bipolar patients

“…Regarding family and attachment relations, those difficulties generate higher divorce rates than the general population. Babinski et al (2011) have also demonstrated that young girls with ADHD have a tendency towards confrontational relationships with their mothers, fewer romantic relations and more depressive symptoms than control subjects. This emotional dysregulation can also lead to high-risk behaviours, possibly through poor management of emotions such as anger, especially while driving: ADHD subjects are more likely of being involved in serious accidents, speeding violations or other infractions of traffic regulations than control subjects (Chang et al, 2014;Fried et al, 2006).…”

Subthreshold and threshold attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in childhood: psychosocial outcomes in adolescence in boys and girls

“…With higher base‐rate levels of emotional problems among girls in the general Swedish population 74, the associations between ADHD and internalizing/emotional problems reported here could to some extent be explained by covariation. However, higher rates of internalizing and/or emotional problems among girls with ADHD have been commonly reported in both clinical and population‐ or community‐based studies 8, 16, 19, 29, 46, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81. Thus, ADHD symptoms seem to contribute to the total internalizing problem load in a gender‐specific manner 61.…”

How Persistent is ADHD into Adulthood? Informant Report and Diagnostic Thresholds in a Female Sample

“…Because a number of large prevalence studies have suggested that the male: female ratio of the disorder may be markedly lower than once believed, especially in adulthood (e.g., DuPaul et al, 2001;Kessler et al, 2005;Ramtekkar et al, 2010;Simon et al, 2009), research on ADHD in young women presents an urgent area of need (see also Gaub & Carlson, 1997;Gershon, 2002). Overall, girls with ADHD may be at particularly high risk for negative outcomes over time (see Babinski et al, 2011;Biederman et al, 2010Biederman et al, , 2012Chronis-Tuscano et al, 2010;Dalsgaard, Mortensen, Frydenberg, & Thomsen, 2002;Hinshaw et al, 2012).…”

“…In terms of diagnostic persistence, Babinski et al (2011) examined rates of ADHD in the female subsample of the Pittsburgh ADHD Longitudinal Study (PALS). Of the 58 female participants (34 probands, 24 controls), assessed at a mean age of 19.9 years, ADHD was found to persist in 41% (via parent-report utilizing DSM-IV criteria), compared to only 13% via selfreport.…”