Attention disorder and drug abuse

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to smoke, drink and use illegal drugs, as recently reported. Researchers at the Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania and at the State University of New York at Buffalo compared 142 teenagers aged 13 to 18 who had been diagnosed with ADHD to 100 children without ADHD. They looked for antisocial behaviour reported by the teachers and parents and questioned the children. They found that children with ADHD had a higher risk of abusing alcohol and heavier drugs, and were more likely to smoke at younger ages, than non-ADHD children. Childhood ADHD symptoms, particularly the inattention dimension of ADHD, predicted later substance use to a greater degree than childhood antisocial behaviours. About 72 percent of the children still had ADHD as teens and they reported getting drunk more often and more cigarette smoking than adolescents without childhood ADHD.

It could be because children with ADHD have trouble paying attention, problems at school and difficulty with relationships with friends and family. This, in turn, could make them susceptible to abusing drugs and alcohol. It also shows that it is important to diagnose and treat ADHD early. A child may begin having poor academic performance and peer difficulties and then gravitate toward peer groups as an adolescent where substance abuse is accepted as a way of life.

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