ATTENTION-DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER AND SEX - A TEST OF 2 ETIOLOGIC MODELS TO EXPLAIN THE MALE PREDOMINANCE

Tested were two theoretical models, the polygenetic multiple-threshold model and the constitutional variability model, which were both devel oped to explain the male predominance of attention deficit hyperactivi ty disorder (ADHD). The differential correlates to ADHD predicted by t hese models were tested in a clinic-referred sample of 13 girls and 67 boys who were reliably diagnosed with ADHD using a multi-informant pr ocedure. Our data were not consistent with the predictions made by the two models, including the shared assumption that girls with ADHD woul d show a more severe form of the disorder. However, boys with ADHD wer e more likely to have fathers with a childhood history of ADHD, which may provide the basis for alternative theories of the male predominanc e. In addition, girls with ADHD were younger at the time of referral t han boys with ADHD, despite the fact that their parents reported the o nset of symptoms no earlier in girls with ADHD, than in boys with ADHD .