Gavin Publishers Gavin Journal of Addiction Research and Therapy Volume 2016; Pages 9 Bergman A et al. 1 www.gavinpublishers.com Review Article Keywords Antisocial personality disorder; Comorbidity; Emerging adults; Substance use; ADHD Introduction Attention Defcit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is defned in the DSM-IV-TR as a disorder that manifests before the age of 7 years [1]. It is widely accepted, however, that 10 to 60 percent of childhood-onset cases persist into adulthood [2,3]. In adulthood, the negative efects of ADHD may include increased substance use, academic and vocational difculties, emotional difculties, poor interpersonal relationships, and trouble with the law [4-7]. Te majority of the research on ADHD has focused on school-age children utilizing clinical samples [8,9] or community samples recruited in school settings [10,11]. Tere appears to be a dearth of ADHD literature focusing on the transition period between adolescence and adulthood, referred to as emerging adulthood [12,13]. Te goal of this study was to assess comorbidity in a sample of disconnected, emerging adults with ADHD recruited from a General Education Diploma (GED) program. Emerging adulthood is a distinct period demographically, subjectively, and in terms of identity explorations that difers from adolescence and young adulthood [14]. Te lack of attention to transitional periods of development may be due, in part, to a tendency for a somewhat artifcial distinction to Comorbidity in Disconnected Emerging Adults with ADHD Andrea Bergman 1 *, Meredith Owens 2 , Jill D. Kelter 3 and Grace Kong 4 1 Department of Psychology, St. John’s University, Jamaica, New York, USA 2 Psychologist for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Zucker Hillside Hospital and North Shore LIJ Health System, New York, USA 3 Psychologist at Valley Coordinated Children’s Services, Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Reseda, California, USA 4 Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven Connecticut, USA *Corresponding author: Andrea Bergman, Department of Psychology, St. John’s University, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica, New York, USA 11439, Tel: +91 7189901550; E-mail: bergmana@stjohns.edu Citation: Bergman A, Owens M, Kelter DJ, Grace Kong (2016) Comorbidity in Disconnected Emerg- ing Adults with ADHD. Gavin J Addict Res Ter 2016: 17-25. Received: 8 June, 2016; Accepted: 27 June, 2016; Published: 11 July, 2016 Abstract Research on ADHD has typically neglected the transition period of emerging adulthood. Tis study examined comorbidity in 105 disconnected, emerging adults with ADHD recruited from a General Education Diploma (GED) program. Participants were administered questionnaires and an interview to evaluate ADHD, psychoactive substance use disorders, antisocial personality disorder (APD), and depressive disorders. Compared to participants without ADHD (n=82), those with ADHD (n-29) reported higher rates of substance use disorders (alcohol use disorders=56%; cocaine use disorders=23%), APD (59%), and depressive disorders (39%). Further, APD mediated the relationship between ADHD and alcohol and cocaine use disorders. Te results indicated high rates of comorbidity among emerging adults with ADHD. Findings are discussed with regard to treatment and highlight the need for research in underserved populations.