title: Subthreshold and threshold attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in childhood: psychosocial outcomes in adolescence in boys and girls.
abstract: To examine the association between different levels of childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and sex differences in psychosocial outcomes during adolescence.
  
  
  
  Swedish children (n = 4635) were screened for neuropsychiatric symptoms at age 9 or 12. ADHD symptoms were divided into three levels: screen-negative, screen-intermediate, and screen-positive. At follow-up (age 15), parents and teenagers filled out questionnaires regarding (i) hyperactivity/inattention, (ii) peer problems, (iii) school problems, (iv) internalizing problems, (v) antisocial behaviour, (vi) alcohol misuse, and (vii) drug misuse. All outcomes were controlled for symptoms of diagnostic categories other than ADHD.
  
  
  
  Increasing levels of ADHD symptoms in childhood were associated with higher proportions of adolescents who displayed negative psychosocial outcomes. More girls than boys reported internalizing problems (all levels) and risky drug use (screen-intermediate and screen-positive only). More boys reported antisocial behaviour at the screen-negative and screen-intermediate levels, but at the screen-positive level, similar proportions of girls and boys displayed antisocial behaviour.
  
  
  
  The findings support the view that ADHD symptoms, as well as their negative outcomes, are dimensionally distributed in the population and that adolescent girls and boys display different risk profiles. The findings confirm that ADHD symptoms are associated with higher risk of drug misuse in girls.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research & Education, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: E
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6104-7836
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Norén Selinus
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research & Education, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden.|Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Molero
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lichtenstein
authors.affiliation: Center for Ethics, Law and Mental Health (CELAM), University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Anckarsäter
authors.affiliation: Center for Ethics, Law and Mental Health (CELAM), University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden.|Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lundström
authors.affiliation: Unit of Biostatistics, IMM, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bottai
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research & Education, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hellner Gumpert
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D058445:Bullying / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012309:Risk-Taking; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; behaviour; child and adolescent psychiatry; comorbidity; gender