Hidden Crises Facing Teen Girls with ADHD

A recent study reports an alarming number of incidents of suicide attempts and self-injurious behavior among girls and young women with ADHD. The Berkeley Girls ADHD Longitudinal Study by Dr. Steve Hinshaw and his colleagues reveals the following rates:

Suicide Attempts Self-Injurious Behavior

Control 8%  Control 19%

ADHD C Group 22% ADHD C Group 51

Stephen Hinshaw,  PhD

Dr. Hinshaw will discuss this study at the 24th Annual CHADD International Conference in San Francisco, on November 8-10. During the research symposium, he will discuss the ideas behind the study, which began in the 1990s; the findings from the childhood, adolescent, and young adult phases of the study; and the strikingly high rate of suicidal and self-injurious behavior in late adolescence and young adulthood.  register online

During his session on Girls & Women with ADHD, with Special Focus on Long-Term Outcome, Dr. Hinshaw will address the following questions:

• Should there be different diagnostic criteria (or different thresholds for diagnosis) for girls vs. boys with ADHD?
• How do long-term outcomes differ between the sexes?
• Why is there a 3:1 male-female ratio in childhood but closer to an even sex distribution by adulthood?
• How should treatments be tailored to females?

Dr. Hinshaw will speak on Stigma, Mental Illness, and Families: Implications for ADHD in his general session on Thursday evening.