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Few Preschool Boys and Girls with ADHD are Well-Adjusted During Adolescence

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Abstract

To estimate the prevalence of being well-adjusted in adolescence, boys and girls with (n = 96) and without (n = 126) attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were assessed seven times in eight years starting when they were 4–6 years of age. Symptoms of ADHD, ODD/CD, and depression/anxiety in addition to social skills and social preference were gathered using multiple methods and informants. Being well-adjusted was defined by surpassing thresholds in at least four of the five domains. At the 7- and 8-year follow-up, when youth were 11–14 years old, probands were significantly less likely to be well-adjusted relative to age- and ethnicity-matched control children. Only a minority of children with ADHD was well-adjusted in adolescence when emotional, behavioral, and social domains were considered simultaneously. Even when their ADHD symptoms improved over time, most probands exhibited significant impairment 7–8 years after their initial assessment.

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Acknowledgment

Work on this project was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grant 2RO1 MH053554 to Benjamin B. Lahey. We are indebted to the families who have continued to participate in our study and to our research staff who have made this study possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 1285 Franz Hall, P.O. Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1563, USA

    Steve S. Lee

  2. Department of Health Studies, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Benjamin B. Lahey

  3. Institute of Human Development, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Elizabeth B. Owens

  4. Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Stephen P. Hinshaw

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  1. Steve S. Lee
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  2. Benjamin B. Lahey
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  3. Elizabeth B. Owens
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  4. Stephen P. Hinshaw
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Correspondence to Steve S. Lee.

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Lee, S.S., Lahey, B.B., Owens, E.B. et al. Few Preschool Boys and Girls with ADHD are Well-Adjusted During Adolescence. J Abnorm Child Psychol 36, 373–383 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-007-9184-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-007-9184-6

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