Follow-Up Study of 64 Hyperactive Children in Adolescence.

Abstract

This study compared two groups of male hyperactive children ranging in age from 12 to 18, those who had accepted chemotherapy (N = 34) and those who had not (N = 30). A control group (N = 79) of non-hyperactive adolescent males was included for comparison in their adolescent adjustment. The groups were matched on age, school group (middle school and high school) and socioeconomic status. Adjustment was determined through rating scales of behaviors given in questionnaire form. Areas researched were: attitude toward school and higher education, alienation, self-esteem, locus of control, drug and alcohol use and deviant behavior. Incidence, etiology and treatment research were reviewed. Previous research has found the incidence of hyperactivity to be high (about 5 percent of school age children), especially among males (4:1) age 3 to 12. Etiology is still being sought as well as a precise definition of the problem. Remediation raises serious concern in terms of outcome particularly in the area of chemotherapy. There is little or no data on the long term effects of medication on the child's eventual adjustment in adolescence. The results showed that there are no significant differences between a medicated group and a non-medicated group of hyperactive children in the areas researched. The hyperactive children in adolescence regardless of medication or not had lower self-esteem, lower grades, and less interest in higher education than the control group of non-hyperactive teenagers. The study indicated that use of medication for hyperactive children does not increase the child's chance of later drug and alcohol abuse nor does medication significantly increase the hyperactive child's self-esteem or interest in school and higher education. The findings also puncture the belief that hyperactive children as adolescents are more deviant and more inclined to abuse drugs and /or alcohol. The outcome also supports the findings of others that the psychotropic medications taken by hyperactive children do not lead in the direction of drug abuse later in life. Although no statistical analysis was conducted on the subjective findings in the case studies, some interesting patterns did emerge. It would appear that family support, consistency, love and direction proved to be more predictive of a satisfactory outcome of hyperactivity than medication. Possible explanations for the findings were discussed as well as the limitations of the study and suggestions for further research.