ADULT ATTENTION-DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER - PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST PROFILES IN A CLINICAL POPULATION

Compared to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childre n, relatively Little is known about the clinical characteristics of ad ults with persistent ADHD. We elected to use established tests with ag e-corrected norms to compare the battery of psychological and neuropsy chological tests conducted on outpatients admitted to our Adult ADHD c linic. ADHD patients scored significantly higher than norms an the TPQ novelty seeking and harm avoidance scales and MMPI-2 scales F, 2, 4, 7, and 8. Further, these patients were impaired on the California verb al learning test, the attentional capacity test, and the omissions and variability subtests of the test of variables of attention. Adult ADH D had high comorbidity with current depressive disorder, antisocial pe rsonality disorder, and alcohol and drug abuse/dependence. High correl ations vr ere found between patients' and independent observers' repor ts of ADHD symptom severity. Implications for further research are dis cussed.