ADHD in adults

Although classically known as a disorder of childhood, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder also affects between 2%–6% of adults, sometimes with serious ramifications.

Margaret Weiss and Candice Murray provide a review of the developmental course of ADHD in adults that focuses on diagnostic assessment and management of the disorder.

The authors state that adults with ADHD are at a higher risk of dropping out of school, losing their jobs and having marital problems. They also typically have poor social skills and experience higher levels of anxiety and depression than the general population.

Although ADHD is an “impairing and prevalent condition,” it can be reliably diagnosed and treated. Stimulant medications have been shown to produce clinically significant responses in adults and new medications and psychotherapeutic approaches are also being developed.

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p. 715 Assessment and management of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults
— M. Weiss, C. Murray

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