Adoptive and biological families of children and adolescents with ADHD

Susan Sprich, Joseph Biederman, Margaret Harding Crawford, Elizabeth Mundy, Stephen V. Faraone

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

192 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: Using an adoption study design, the authors addressed the issue of genetics in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Method: This study examined the rates of ADHD and associated disorders in the first-degree adoptive relatives of 25 adopted probands with ADHD and compared them with those of the first-degree biological relatives of 101 nonadopted probands with ADHD and 50 nonadopted, non-ADHD control probands. Results: Six percent of the adoptive parents of adopted ADHD probands had ADHD compared with 18% of the biological parents of nonadopted ADHD probands and 3% of the biological parents of the control probands. Conclusion: Results of this study lend support to the hypothesis that ADHD has a genetic component.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1432-1437
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Volume39
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - 2000
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Adoption
  • Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
  • Family study

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Adoptive and biological families of children and adolescents with ADHD'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this