ATTENTION-DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER AMONG HOMELESS VETERANS

Among 100 participants in a Department of Veterans Affairs domiciliary program for chronic mentally ill homeless veterans who were consecuti vely referred for psychiatric consultation, 81 who were not psychotic and did not have central nervous system damage were screened for atten tion-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), The screening instrument w as a four-item questionnaire. Fifty of the 81 participants screened po sitive, yet none of the patients or their clinicians had considered AD HD a possible influence on their lives. The study results suggest that clinical staff working with homeless veterans should receive better t raining in recognizing the various presentations of ADHD among adults.