Prospective follow-up of girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder into early adulthood: continuing impairment includes elevated risk for suicide attempts and self-injury.

OBJECTIVE

We performed a 10-year prospective follow-up of a childhood-ascertained (6-12 years), ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; N = 140: combined type [ADHD-C] n = 93; inattentive type [ADHD-I] n = 47) plus a matched comparison group (N = 88). Girls were recruited from schools, mental health centers, pediatric practices, and via advertisements; extensive evaluations confirmed ADHD versus comparison status.

METHOD

Ten-year outcomes (age range 17-24 years; retention rate = 95%) included symptoms (ADHD, externalizing, internalizing), substance use, eating pathology, self-perceptions, functional impairment (global, academic, service utilization), self-harm (suicide attempts, self-injury), and driving behavior.

RESULTS

Participants with childhood-diagnosed ADHD continued to display higher rates of ADHD and comorbid symptoms, showed more serious impairment (both global and specific), and had higher rates of suicide attempts and self-injury than the comparison sample, with effect sizes from medium to very large; yet the groups did not differ significantly in terms of eating pathology, substance use, or driving behavior. ADHD-C and ADHD-I types rarely differed significantly, except for suicide attempts and self-injury, which were highly concentrated in ADHD-C. Domains of externalizing behavior, global impairment, service utilization, and self-harm (self-injury and suicide attempts) survived stringent control of crucial childhood covariates (age, demographics, comorbidities, IQ).

CONCLUSIONS

Girls with childhood ADHD maintain marked impairment by early adulthood, spreading from symptoms to risk for serious self-harm. Our future research addresses the viability of different diagnostic conceptions of adult ADHD and their linkages with core life impairments.