Introduction
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is among the most common mental disorders developing at rather early stages of the individual’s life and entailing a wide range of implications for physical and mental health, social interaction, behavior and further life. As findings of some epidemiological studies demonstrate, this disorder is characterized by rather significant prevalence among children of school age – from 3 to 5% (Dryer et al. 79). The effect of ADHD might create numerous difficulties for children in various environmental contexts, from classroom to home setting. However, disruptive nature of this health condition is even more outstanding as ADHD might produce not just short-term detrimental effects on children (their development, socialization and learning), but also long-term impacts on the individual’s functioning in adolescent years and adulthood. According to Redmond, the symptoms of ADHD might develop in early childhood (often before the age of six) and persist throughout late childhood, adolescence and even adulthood; while the impact of ADHD symptoms might deteriorate the individual’s abilities and skills in educational, social and educational domains (Redmond 133). Given rather high prevalence and the scope of detrimental impacts, the present research paper is intended to investigate causes, types, symptoms, gender-specific traits and long-term implications of the disorder.
Overview of the disorder
As there are many myths and misconceptions surrounding ADHD, it is necessary to address them in the first instance. In the recent years, there have been numerous debates and misconceptions related to the difference between Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), which confuses many people (particularly, the “hyperactivity” component) and leads them to leave their ADHD symptoms untreated. Previously, the disorder was known under the abbreviation ADD, which is Attention Deficit Disorder: this abbreviation used to denote the disorder in the past scholarly discourse. However, under the criteria provided in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (editions 4 and 5, DSM-4 and DSM-5) developed by the American Psychological Association, the official term to be used for the disorder is ADHD (APA). This abbreviation is used in the present psychological studies as an abbreviation covering symptomatology of the disorder, while ADD is an outdated term. However, although ADD and ADHD are defined as a single mental disorder, the former is still applied to denote one of ADHD types marked by a specific symptomatic pattern.
Symptoms, causes and tendencies
Significant attention has been paid to etiology of ADHD: existing research shows that the disorder can be caused by internal factors such as genetic predisposition and by environmental influences. Genetic causes are rather prevalent: ADHD in parents is likely to be transmitted to their children. According to Konopka, ADHD heritability rate might reach 76% (Konopka 174). To date, researchers have not distinguished a single gene that might be responsible for development of ADHD in children, though there are evidences that several genes increasing vulnerability to ADHD exist (Konopka 174). On the other hand, such factors as low birth weight or premature birth can increase probability of ADHD (Reading 300). Other environmental factors such as social deprivation, abuse, impact of toxic substances, alcohol intake by mothers during pregnancy, traumatic brain injuries and extreme neglect, chemical imbalance and poor diet (Dryer et al. 80) are also believed to be causes of ADHD in children.
In accordance with symptomatology, ADHD is typically divided into three main types: inattentive (ADHD-I), hyperactive (ADHD-H) and combined (ADHD-C). These types are distinguished by specific sets of symptoms. Inattentive ADHD is characterized by APA as a subtype entailing difficulties in maintaining and focusing attention, poor ability to follow instructions and susceptivity to distractions. However, ADHD-I children are not hyperactive (APA). Another symptom of inattentive ADHD reported by Becker and colleagues is disruption of sleep functioning: “14% of children with ADHD-I do not get adequate sleep, 31% have a delayed sleep onset, and 41% need to catch up on sleep on weekends” (Becker et al. 157). Importantly, ADD is an abbreviation that is commonly used to denote this type of ADHD.
Unlike inattentive ADHD, hyperactive ADHD is marked by signs of hyperactivity in the child’s behavior: such symptoms as nonstop talking, fidgeting, difficulties in focusing and maintaining focus on quiet tasks, tendency to interrupt and inability to wait or sit still are prevalent (APA). Konopka summarizes symptoms of hyperactive ADHD in the following way: “Excessive running, climbing, and moving. Impulsivity involves excessive talking, answering without thinking, inability to wait one’s turn, interrupting, and so on” (Konopka 174). On the other hand, combined ADHD manifest itself through a combination of ADHD-I and ADHD-H symptoms.
Lifespan development of ADHD
Children
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder typically develops at early stages of childhood and becomes a peculiar health condition impairing the child’s development. While the symptoms predominantly develop before the age of six years, they tend to persist at school age as well: ADHD affects approximately 3-5% of school age children” (Schubert 1). While ADHD might become the product of the aforementioned environmental and genetic factors, its impact on children’s development and functioning is enormous. According to Dryer and colleagues, children with the disorder “exhibit a number of problems in a range of environmental contexts, but most notably in the home and the classroom where their behaviour can be disruptive, and interfere with the wellbeing of other family and class members” (Dryer et al. 79). There are also developmental implications of ADHD as children suffering from this disorder tend to have difficulties in learning. Particularly, sufficient scholarly evidence demonstrates delays in speech and language development (El Sady et al.), poor academic achievements and impaired learning abilities (Pungello et al.). Moreover, the impact on children might differ depending on the specific subtype of the disorder: for instance, children with inattentive ADHD “are less assertive and knowledgeable about appropriate social skills than children with ADHD-C” (Orinstein & Stevens 121).
Adolescents
As it has been mentioned, ADHD is likely to persist throughout childhood and into adolescence, though some of the symptoms might fade away and their persistence depends on the specific type of ADHD. However, adolescence is marked by radical hormonal changes, which increases the risk that some ADHD symptoms might get even worth. At the same time, the symptoms of inattentive ADHD such as inattentiveness are more likely to persist in adolescence than the symptoms of hyperactive ADHD (these symptoms are likely to fade away over time (Holbrook et al. 11). As adolescence is a crucial educational period, adolescents with ADHD (especially untreated) might experience significant difficulties at school and in social interactions.
Adults
For most people diagnosed with ADHD in childhood, the disorder is likely to manifest itself even in adulthood: statistical estimates summarized by Kooij and colleagues show that ADHD is prevalent among as much as 2 to 5 % of adult individuals (Kooij et al. 67). The researchers also cite the follow-up studies showing that ADHD persists in adulthood in about 2/3 of affected individuals: the disorder might persists either in its unchanged ‘full blown’ form or reach the stage of ‘partial remission’, manifesting itself through a limited set of symptoms (Kooij et al. 68). In addition, it is known that some ADHD symptoms might evolve in adulthood: for instance, the symptoms related to hyperactivity are likely to transform into inner restlessness (Kooij et al. 67). Other emerging symptoms (which, in fact, replace childhood ADHD symptoms) might include addictive behaviors, difficulties in relaxing, sensation-seeking, excessive talking in social environments and impulsivity, as it is defined by DSM-V.
However, ADHD symptoms produce similar impacts on adults impairing their cognitive and mental functioning (Biederman et al. 692): adult ADHD individuals might experience difficulties in such domains as family, work, social interactions, relationships and control of emotions. The key flaw in the system of clinical diagnostics is that adult ADHD has often been questioned in terms of its validity: as a result, the evidence of appropriate clinical assessment and diagnostics for adult ADHD is limited. As ADHD in adults is often overlooked as an invalid diagnosis, its symptoms often remain untreated leading to various complications.
Gender differences in symptoms, impacts and long-term implications
The body of research related to ADHD symptomatology and prevalence proves greater prevalence of the disorder among boys (Konopka 174), though ADHD profiles have few significant sex differences and symptomatic patterns do not differ significantly in adulthood. However, specific ADHD subtypes are subject to sex difference: for instance, girls diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder are more likely to have its inattentive subtype, while hyperactivity symptoms are more typical for boys (Rucklidge 357). Moreover, female adolescents with ADHD are more likely to develop such symptoms as “lower self-efficacy and poorer coping strategies” (Rucklidge 357), greater susceptivity to depression and higher rates of anxiety. In the long-term perspective, there is evidence of “higher rates of major depression, anxiety disorders, and conduct disorder, and more evidence of school failure and cognitive impairment” in women with ADHD (Biederman et al. 693). On the other hand, males affected by the disorder are more vulnerable to uncontrolled externalizing behaviors and struggle to control and contain physical aggression.
Conclusion
Although Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is marked by moderately high prevalence, its symptomatology and effects produce a rather detrimental impact on the individual’s functioning, wellbeing and surrounding people. Complex symptomatology of the disorder gives rise to a number of misconceptions including confusion of ADD and ADHD, though the latter is officially established a term denoting this array of symptoms, and the former is a term used to denote the specific subtype of ADHD. However, regardless of the type, ADHD develops early in childhood and might progress into adolescence and adult life affecting functioning, performance, abilities and wellbeing of the individual. Although the symptoms are believed to fade away to a certain extent by adulthood, the disease is highly prevalent among adults and might evolve into destructive behaviors that cause severe impairment in functioning and social interactions. However, many ADHD cases are never diagnosed properly and left untreated, which makes the disorder an even bigger problem for modern psychology and creates the need for training, timely diagnostics and appropriate treatment methods to prevent detrimental effects of ADHD.
Works Cited
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