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Impaired Decision-Making as a Young Adult Outcome of Girls Diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Childhood

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 October 2012

Meghan Miller*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
Margaret Sheridan
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts Developmental Medicine Center, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, Massachusetts
Stephanie L. Cardoos
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
Stephen P. Hinshaw
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Meghan Miller, Department of Psychology, Tolman Hall #1650, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-1650. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

We examined decision-making in young adulthood in a follow-up study of females diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) between 6 and 12 years. Participants with childhood ADHD (n = 114) and matched comparison females (n = 77), followed prospectively for 10 years, performed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) at ages 17–25 years. This task assesses preference for high-reward/high-risk chances that result in lower overall gains (disadvantageous decks of cards) compared to low-reward/low-risk chances that result in higher overall gains (advantageous decks of cards). Relative to comparison participants, young adult females with a history of ADHD did not increase their preference for advantageous decks across time blocks, suggesting difficulties in learning to change behavior over the course of the IGT. Overall, childhood diagnoses of ADHD were associated with disadvantageous decision-making in young adulthood. These results extend findings on decision-making in males with ADHD by demonstrating comparable levels of impairment in an all-female sample. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1–5)

Type
Brief Communication
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2012

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