A comparison of methamphetamine-dependent inpatients with and without childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptomatology

Methamphetamine-dependent inpatients (N = 51) were screened for childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using the Wender Utah Rating Scale upon admission to 30-day inpatient treatment. Baseline assessments included neuropsychological tests of executive function, memory, information processing, verbal fluency, attention, motor skills, and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), a measure of psychiatric symptomatology. The thirty-six participants (70.6%) screening positive for ADHD reported significantly more frequent methamphetamine use prior to baseline. Baseline cognitive functioning was similar between groups, but the presumptive ADHD participants exhibited significantly worse psychiatric symptomatology. At three-week follow-up, 41 participants (80.4%) repeated the neuropsychological battery and BSI. All 10 non-completers screened positive for ADHD. The entire sample improved with abstinence in most neuropsychological domains except memory. The presumptive ADHD group failed to improve on tests of attention. All participants demonstrated significant reductions in psychiatric symptoms with abstinence. Methamphetamine-dependent individuals with ADHD symptoms are common and pose a significant treatment challenge.