6.70 YOUNG ADULTS WITH CHILDHOOD ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER: LATENT PROFILES OF FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES AND IMPAIRMENT

Objectives: Given the wide variety and chronic severity of impairments that young adults with ADHD histories experience, the current study aims to utilize a person-centered approach of data analysis to characterize differentiable patterns of impairment across functional domains of substance use, criminal behavior, social functioning, educational attainment, and finances among young adults with childhood ADHD. Determining if young adults with ADHD histories present with distinct patterns of impairment will clarify the current literature on which young adults are more likely to experience which subset of negative outcomes. Methods: Data from the Pittsburgh ADHD Longitudinal Study was used, and participants were 317 young adults (25 years old) with childhood ADHD. Latent Profile Analysis was conducted in order to characterize the variability in functional impairment across alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, marijuana use, criminal behavior, social impairment, educational attainment, maternal relationship, financial dependence, and sexual activity. Auxiliary variables collected in childhood and adolescence were examined for significant differences among profiles, and profiles were compared to controls. Results: Five profiles of functioning among young adults with ADHD histories were found and consisted of an average ADHD young adult group (54 percent), an alcohol use group (17 percent), a marijuana use group (10 percent), a criminal group (3 percent), and a high impairment group (17 percent). Auxiliary childhood variables rarely differed across profiles, and profiles differed significantly from controls on some variables. Conclusions: Young adults with ADHD histories have varying patterns of functional impairments across substance use, criminal, and social domains. About half of the young adults appear to be functioning relatively well, though they are more impaired than typically developing peers across domains. Further, two profiles differentiated based on substance use, indicating that substance use is elevated among subgroups of, but not all, young adults with ADHD histories. The limited ability to predict profiles from baseline data may be due to the time span between measurement and/or a variety of intervening variables impacting development and outcome.