Research & Resources

In the Pittsburgh ADHD Longitudinal Study, 358 individuals with childhood-diagnosed ADHD and 239 without were prospectively followed from ages 18 to 29. Perceived peer alcohol use and individuals’ heavy drinking frequencies changed together over time concurrently—from ages 18 to 21 and again at ages 21 to 29. Findings showed that increasing perceived peer use from ages 18 to 21 predicted more frequent heavy drinking at age 29 for those with ADHD.

The paper, “Beers with Peers: Childhood ADHD and Risk for Correlated Change in Perceived Peer and Personal Alcohol Use Across Young Adulthood,” was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). It was published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.