Few girls with childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder show positive adjustment during adolescence.
Employing data from 140 prospectively followed girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 88 age- and ethnicity-matched comparison girls, we adopted a person-centered analytic approach to assess rates of adolescent positive adjustment (PA) across six domains: ADHD symptoms, externalizing symptoms, internalizing symptoms, social skills, peer acceptance, and school achievement. During adolescence, between 19.8% and 61.1% of the girls with childhood ADHD met criteria for PA when the six domains were considered independently. A total of 16.4% of the ADHD sample showed PA in at least five of six domains, versus 86.4% of the comparison girls. Results were similar when PA was examined excluding the ADHD symptom domain. Most girls did not "grow out of" the symptoms and impairments related to their ADHD.
Owens
Elizabeth B
EB
Institute of Human Development, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. lizowens@berkeley.edu
Hinshaw
Stephen P
SP
Lee
Steve S
SS
Lahey
Benjamin B
BB
D000124:Achievement; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000523:psychology*; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D010379:Peer Group; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012951:Socialization