Patterns of Childhood Adversity among Women with and without Childhood ADHD: Links to Adult Psychopathology and Global Functioning

Objective: We examine the outcomes associated with childhood adversity for women with and without carefully diagnosed childhood ADHD, via an ethnically diverse sample of 140 participants with ADHD (Mage = 9.7) and 88 age- and ethnicity-matched comparisons (Mage = 9.4). At adult follow-up, we retained 211 of the original 228 participants (92.6%; Mage = 25.6). Method: We used latent class analysis to identify patterns of childhood adversity and examine their association with adult global functioning and psychopathology. Results: Key findings: (1) Four childhood adversity classes emerged (Low Exposure, Familial Dysfunction, Emotional Maltreatment, Pervasive Exposure); (2) Childhood ADHD predicted membership in the Emotional Maltreatment class; and (3) Childhood adversity classes were differently associated with adult outcomes, such that women in both the Emotional Maltreatment and Pervasive Exposure groups experienced significantly higher internalizing and externalizing symptoms and reported significantly lower global functioning than those in the Low Exposure group. Furthermore, compared to those in the Emotional Maltreatment group, women with the Familial Dysfunction group had lower externalizing symptoms, whereas women in the Pervasive Exposure class had lower global functioning and higher internalizing symptoms. Conclusions: Findings provide information about women who could be targeted for intervention in terms of ADHD symptoms plus types of adverse experiences in childhood. Beyond limitations, we discuss the need to investigate the confluence of neurodevelopmental conditions and adverse child events with respect to maladaptive outcomes.