ADHD is most often associated with children which is where the research has concentrated up until now. The evidence suggests that many people continue to be haunted by the condition as adults. As a result reserach is starting to address its effects on adults.
Research released today at the American Psychological Assocation’s convention followed those diagnosed by age 7 with ADHD and followed them into their 20s. They were compared with their neighbours without the disorder.
“Adults who had ADHD as kids started having sex a year earlier than classmates. About a third dropped out of high school, compared with none of the neighbor kids, Fischer says. And 1 out of 3 had become parents by their early 20s vs. 1 in 25 of the classmates. They had less than half the savings of young adults they had grown up with and more debt. Yet researchers don’t know whether ADHD alone causes these ill effects.”