Childhood ADHD and Later Antisocial Behavior and Drug Use

Abstract

ADHD children, especially those with the Combined or Hyperactive Types, frequently demonstrate high levels of conduct problems or social aggression in their childhood years (Barkley, 1998; Hinshaw, 1987). Followed into adolescence, these children, particularly those with comorbid social aggression, have a significantly elevated risk for oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder (CD), and delinquent or antisocial activities (August, Stewart, & Holmes, 1983; Barkley et al., 1990; Klein & Mannuzza, 1991; Weiss & Hechtman, 1993). Along with those risks, there occurs a greater likelihood of being arrested (Satterfield, Swanson, Schell, & Lee, 1994) and a greater propensity for substance experimentation, use, and eventual abuse (Biederman, Wilens, et al., 1997; Lambert & Hartsough, 1998), particularly among that subset of ADHD children having CD by adolescence (Molina, Smith, & Pelham, 1999).