Young Adult Educational and Vocational Outcomes of Children Diagnosed with ADHD

Abstract

Decreased success at work and educational attainment by adulthood are of concern for children with ADHD given their widely documented academic difficulties; however there are few studies that have examined this empirically and even fewer that have studied predictors and individual variability of these outcomes. The current study compares young adults with and without a childhood diagnosis of ADHD on educational and occupational outcomes and the predictors of these outcomes. Participants were from the Pittsburgh ADHD Longitudinal Study (PALS), a prospective study with yearly data collection. Significant group differences were found for nearly all variables such that educational and occupational attainment was lower for adults with compared to adults without histories of childhood ADHD. Despite the mean difference, educational functioning was wide-ranging. High school academic achievement significantly predicted enrollment in post-high school education and academic and disciplinary problems mediated the relationship between childhood ADHD and post-high school education. Interestingly, ADHD diagnosis and disciplinary problems negatively predicted occupational status while enrollment in post-high school education was a positive predictor. Job loss was positively predicted by a higher rate of academic problems and diagnosis of ADHD. This study supports the need for interventions that target the child and adolescent predictors of later educational and occupational outcomes in addition to continuing treatment of ADHD in young adulthood targeting developmentally appropriate milestones, such as completing post-high school education and gaining and maintaining stable employment.

Vital Signs: National and State-Specific Patterns of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Treatment Among Insured Children Aged 2–5 Years — United States, 2008–2014

“…ADHD is a highly prevalent condition that can lead to poor health and social outcomes (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9). Despite 2007 and 2011 guidelines recommending behavior therapy as first-line treatment for children aged <6 years with ADHD, during 2008-2014 only about half of children aged 2-5 years with ADHD received psychological services.…”

What is the level of evidence for the use of currently available technologies in facilitating the self-management of difficulties associated with ADHD in children and young people? A systematic review

“…Due to the symptoms and complexity of the condition, there are a number of important long-term difficulties associated with ADHD. These include low academic attainment [10,11], which can persist into adulthood [12], poor executive functioning [13], poor social relationships, strained parent/child/sibling relationships [14] and problems with social interactions with peers [15]. This results in poorer quality of life and self-esteem in children and YP with ADHD [16,17].…”

Réflexion sur la pertinence de s’intéresser aux stratégies d’étude des étudiants ayant un trouble d’apprentissage ou un TDA/H afin de favoriser leur réussite scolaire

“…Par ailleurs, aux États-Unis, on constate que les étudiants ayant un TDA/H sont plus susceptibles de s'inscrire à un parcours postsecondaire plus court (Kuriyan et al, 2013), d'obtenir un échec, d'abandonner un cours et de ne pas compléter leur programme d'étude en comparaison aux autres étudiants (Weyandt et al, 2013). Les étudiants ayant un TA vivent sensiblement les mêmes difficultés.…”