[Intellectual abilities in adolescents with former ADHD diagnoses - relationships to current ADHD symptoms, comorbid symptoms, and medication history: results of an 8.5-year follow-up of the Cologne Adaptive Multimodal Treatment Study (CAMT)].

Abstract

The current analysis was conducted on 16- to 22-year-old persons who had received a multimodal treatment for ADHD during their childhood. The main objective was to analyse the relationships between current intellectual abilities and current ADHD symptoms, comorbid symptoms, and medication history.
In an 8.5-year follow-up study current intellectual ability was assessed with the German version of the KAIT (K-TIM). Behavioural problems were rated by parents and the former patients via standardized questionnaires and a semistructured interview. T-tests, Pearson correlations, and multiple regression analyses were then conducted.
No significant correlations were found between former treatment with medication and current intellectual abilities. Moreover, no relationship was found between intellectual abilities and current ADHD symptoms as assessed by self- and parent-rating via questionnaires. However, adolescents with lower IQ did show higher scores of problematic performance behavior during the test. Also, a correlation was found between overall clinical judgement and externalizing problem behavior at home and in school.
Only small correlations were found between the current residual symptoms and intelligence in adolescent and young adults who had received a diagnosis of ADHD in childhood.