Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is commonly diagnosed in childhood. Individuals suffering from this disorder demonstrate considerable difficulty maintaining attention, controlling impulsive behavior and regulating hyperactivity. Children with ADHD are often diagnosed with other disorders as well. According to Robert Weis, author of "Introduction to Child and Adolescent Psychology," as many as 44 percent of children with ADHD are also diagnosed with another disorder.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder
As noted by Weis, a leading clinical psychologist, between 54 and 67 percent of children with ADHD are also diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder, or ODD, and between 30 and 56 percent of adolescents with ADHD are diagnosed with conduct disorder. Children with ODD express anger and vengeful attitudes, easily lose their tempers and demonstrate disobedient and defiant behavior, such as refusing to listen to adults. Adolescents with CD have more serious problems with behavior, including breaking laws, harming others, destroying property and stealing from others. Children and adolescents with ADHD are at risk for developing disruptive behavior that may reach the extremes of these two disorders.
Substance Use
As described by Weis, children with ADHD have a 15-percent chance of abusing substances. The most common drug is nicotine, a stimulant that may help adolescents to focus. Other drugs that may be abused include alcohol, marijuana and other stimulants, including methamphetamine. Weis suggests that teens with ADHD often struggle to fit in and make friends, making them more likely to be involved with risk-taking peers who abuse drugs and alcohol and therefore making them more likely to do so.
Anxiety and Depression
Children with ADHD may also tend to hold in their feelings, leading to anxiety or depression. According to Weis, between 20 and 30 percent of children with ADHD have depression, while around 25 percent are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. In terms of bipolar disorder, having a diagnosis of ADHD does not make a child more likely to be diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but children with bipolar disorder are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD.
Learning Disabilities and ADHD
The National Institute of Mental Health reports that children with ADHD are more likely to have learning disabilities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 17 have a diagnosis of ADHD alone, 5 percent have a diagnosis of learning disability alone, and 4 percent have a diagnosis of both disorders.
Tourette's Disorder
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, many children who have Tourette's disorder also have ADHD. Tourette's disorder is characterized by tics that can be vocal or motor, including unusual facial expressions or blinking. According to the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders," although many children with Tourette's disorder have ADHD, the majority of children with ADHD do not have Tourette's disorder. When both diagnoses are present, ADHD is usually the initial diagnosis.
References
- "Introduction to Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology"; Robert Weis; 2008
- National Institute of Mental Health: What Conditions Can Coexist with ADHD?
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Diagnosed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Learning Disability--United States, 2004--2006
- "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders," 4th ed; American Psych Assoc; 2000
