Logo: to the web site of Uppsala University

Childhood ADHD foreshadows many negative long-term outcomes. Diagnosis is based on symptom ratings by parents and teachers, which often show discrepancies and have inconsistent predictive power on later outcomes. Compensation and environmental factos may contribute to discrepancies between raters. This study aimed to investigate the longitudinal effect of ADHD symptoms on internalising symptoms and academic achievement in a sample of 8-13-year-old children oversampled for ADHD diagnoses. Specifically, the study examined whether parent ratings, teacher ratings, or combinations of both best predicted the outcome two years later. Additionally, the study sought evidence of compensation by examining interactions between teacher-rated hyperactivity, anxiety, and diagnostic status. The results show that high ADHD symptom severity predicted lower academic performance and more internalising symptoms two years later. The combined teacher and parent measures predicted internalising symptoms significantly, while separate measures did not. Teacher but not parent ratings significantly predicted academic performance. No support for compensation within the ADHD group was found, as there was no negative association between teacher-rated hyperactivity and internalising symptoms. Signs that the relationship between ADHD and internalising symptoms develops differently for children with and without ADHD warrants further study.