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Girls with ADHD have higher change of developing drug, alcohol problems

By Staff Writer

Researchers from the University of Jyvaskyla and the University of Helsinki recently conducted a study that indicates that girls who have attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder may be more likely to have substance abuse problems.

In order to come to this conclusion, researchers studied 1,545 Finnish youths who had ADHD. When these participants were 14 years old, they took the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism in order to test their chances of developing substance abuse problems. At the age of 17, the teens took a multi-item questionnaire.

The results of the assessments show that at the age of 14, baseline ADHD symptoms could be used to determine if a girl would develop alcohol and illicit drug addictions in the future. However, there was no correlation among boys. At the age of 17, symptoms of the disorder could predict frequent alcohol abuse in both genders, but in girls it was a stronger predictor of both alcohol and drug abuse.

Teens may be able to control the symptoms of their ADHD by enrolling in therapeutic schools. According to Help Starts Here, these facilities can help youths who have mental, behavioral or substance abuse problems while providing them with a structured academic schedule.  

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