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Girls with a history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to injure themselves and even attempt suicide as they get older, suggests a study published Tuesday in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
"Like boys with ADHD, girls continue to have problems with academic achievement and relationships, and need special services as they enter early adulthood," Prof. Stephen Hinshaw of University of California, Berkeley said in a statement. "Our findings of extremely high rates of cutting and other forms of self-injury, along with suicide attempts, show us that the long-term consequences of ADHD females are profound."
Hinshaw says his team tracked a diverse group of girls with ADHD in California's San Francisco Bay Area through early childhood summer camps, adolescence and early adulthood.
The study, assessing the girls 10 years after it began, examined 140 of them ages 17-24, comparing their behavioural, emotional and academic development to that of a demographically similar group of 88 girls without ADHD.
The study revealed that the group with combined inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity during childhood was by far the most likely to manifest self-injury and suicide attempts in early adulthood. In fact, it showed that more than half of the members of this sub-group were reported to have engaged in self-injurious behavior, and more than one-fifth had attempted suicide, Prof. Hinshaw said.
"A key question is why, by young adulthood, young women with ADHD would show a markedly high risk for self-harm. Impulse control problems appear to be a central factor," the study said.
While many girls in the study showed improvement in ADHD symptoms during the 10-year period, certain problems persisted and new ones emerged, suggesting that careful monitoring and treatment are essential, Hinshaw said.