Deficits in diagnosis, treatment and continuity of care in African-American children and adolescents with ADHD

Despite the evidence that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not just a diagnosis of whites, it often goes undiagnosed and is underresearched in the African-American population. There are higher rates of delinquency, incarceration, teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases associated with inadequate or delayed treatment of ADHD. African Americans generally respond well to treatments, but access to evaluation, medication and psychotherapy is limited or absent for many. The purpose of this research is to compare descriptive characteristics of African-American children with ADHD to age-matched Caucasian children with the same diagnosis. Age at diagnosis, treatment offered, perception of outcome, adherence, comorbid symptoms and frequency of follow-up were collected retrospectively from charts of children treated in the sections of child and adolescent psychiatry and pediatric neurology. African Americans were less likely to report a family history of ADHD and were more likely to have longer periods between visits.