Objective To perform 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, pediatricians, and via advertisements; extensive evaluations confirmed ADHD vs. 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, and service utilization, and self-harm (suicide attempts and self-injury) 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. In future research we address the viability of different diagnostic conceptions of adult ADHD and their linkages with core life impairments.

Fluoxetine treatment, compared to placebo, resulted in significantly greater improvement in repetitive behaviors, according to both the Yale-Brown compulsion subscale and CGI rating of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, as well as on the CGI overall improvement rating. Fluoxetine appeared to be well tolerated. These findings stand in contrast to findings in a trial of citalopram for childhood autism.

Background Rates of suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-injury ([NSSI]; e.g., cutting, burning) peak in adolescence and early adulthood; females and individuals with psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses appear to be at particular risk. Hinshaw and colleagues (2012) reported that young women with histories of childhood ADHD diagnoses reported higher rates of suicide attempts and NSSI than non-diagnosed, comparison women. Methods Via analyses of an ongoing longitudinal investigation, our aims are to examine, with respect to both aspects of self-harmful behavior, (a) ADHD subtype differences and effects of diagnostic persistence (versus transient and non-diagnosed classifications) and (b) potential mediating effects of impulsivity and comorbid psychopathology, ascertained during adolescence. Results Young adult women with a childhood diagnosis of ADHD-Combined type were at highest risk for suicide attempts as well as the most varied and severe forms of NSSI compared to those with ADHD-Inattentive type and those in the comparison group; participants with a persistent ADHD diagnosis were at higher risk than those with a transient diagnosis or those never meeting criteria for ADHD. Mediator analyses revealed that, during adolescence, an objective measure of impulsivity plus comorbid externalizing symptoms were simultaneous, partial mediators of the childhood ADHD-young adult NSSI linkage. Adolescent internalizing symptoms emerged as a partial mediator of the childhood ADHD-young adult suicide attempt linkage. Conclusions ADHD in females, especially when featuring childhood impulsivity and especially with persistent symptomatology, carries high risk for self-harm. Psychiatric comorbidity and response inhibition are important mediators of this clinically important longitudinal association. We discuss limitations and implications for prevention and intervention.

Atypical antipsychotics have been shown to improve disruptive and repetitive behaviors in pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs), but they require assessment of potential side effects. This is the first placebo-controlled trial of olanzapine in the treatment of children and adolescents with PDD. Eleven patients with a diagnosis of either autism, Asperger's syndrome, or PDD not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and aged 6-14 years were randomized into an 8-week double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel treatment study with olanzapine. There was a significant linear trend x group interaction on the Clinical Global Impressions- Improvement (CGI-I) and 50% on olanzapine versus 20% on placebo were responders. Olanzapine was associated with significant weight gain (7.5 +/- 4.8 lbs vs. 1.5 +/- 1.5 lbs on placebo). Olanzapine may be a promising treatment for improving global functioning of PDDs, but the risk of significant weight gain remains a concern. Additional studies are needed to determine the efficacy and safety of olanzapine in the treatment of children with PDD.