NCJ Number
212834
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 45 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2006 Pages: 192-202
Date Published
February 2006
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study compared the adaptive functioning of hyperactive children with that of control children followed into young adulthood.
Abstract
Overall, the results were consistent with previous research findings regarding the lower educational attainment of hyperactive children followed to adulthood. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed and include the need to expand clinical interventions targeting the adaptive impairments displayed by the hyperactive subjects. The hyperactive group had fewer years of education and lower grade point averages than the comparison group. The hyperactive subjects were also more likely to have been fired from their jobs, display lower job performance, and to have been treated for sexually transmitted diseases than comparison subjects. Regression analyses further indicated that the severity of lifetime conduct disorder was predictive of many of the outcomes, such as failure to graduate and early parenthood. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder at work were predictive of job performance and risk of being fired. Participants were 149 hyperactive and 72 community control children initially assessed in 1978 through 1980 and followed for at least 13 years. Interviews with participants were conducted at initial intake and then again between 1992 and 1996. Interviews focused on five main areas of major life activities: educational, occupational, financial, social, and sexual functioning. High school transcripts and blinded employer ratings of job performance were also examined for most participants. Tables, references