title: Childhood Symptoms of ADHD and Impulsivity in Abstinent Heroin Users.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Heroin dependence is associated with deficits in impulsivity, which is also a core feature of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study aimed to explore the association between childhood ADHD symptoms and cognitive and motor impulsivity among abstinent individuals with a history of heroin dependence.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-two abstinent Bulgarian males with a history of heroin dependence participated in the study. Self-rated childhood ADHD symptoms were obtained using the Wender-Utah Rating Scale. Cognitive impulsivity was measured using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), an index of impulsive decision making, and the Delayed Reward Discounting Task (DRDT), a measure of intertemporal choice. Motor impulsivity was indexed with the Stop Signal Task (SST), a measure of response inhibition.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants, whose average age was 27.66 years (SD = 2.7), had an average ADHD symptom score of 36.6 (SD = 18.6), had roughly 7 years (SD = 2.9) of heroin use, and had been abstinent for just over a year (M = 402.5 days, SD = 223.8). Linear regression analyses revealed that self-reported ADHD symptoms predicted impulsive decision making (IGT), but not delayed discounting (DRDT) or response inhibition (SST).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-reported childhood ADHD symptoms do not uniformly predict impulsivity among abstinent individuals with heroin dependence. Results suggest the IGT may be more sensitive to externalizing psychopathology among individuals with heroin dependence than other measures of impulsivity.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurology , University of Miami , Miami , Florida , USA.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Segalà
authors.affiliation: b Bulgarian Addictions Institute , Sofia , Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Georgi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vasilev
authors.affiliation: b Bulgarian Addictions Institute , Sofia , Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Ivaylo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Raynov
authors.affiliation: c Department of Psychology , Florida International University , Miami , Florida , USA.
authors.forename: Raul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.affiliation: d Department of Psychiatry , Virginia Commonwealth University , Richmond , Virginia , USA.
authors.forename: Jasmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vassileva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: ADHD; abstinence; addiction; decision making; heroin; impulsivity