The existence of ADHD independently (i.e., in the absence of other comorbid conditions) predicts such issues is the third requirement for ADHD to be deemed a cause of alcohol-related problems. Conduct disorder (CD), or more broadly the antisocial spectrum of behaviour that includes aggressivity and oppositional defiant disorder in childhood, CD in adolescence, and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) in adulthood, is the comorbid disorder that is most frequently cited as a confound to the association between ADHD and alcohol. Elevated rates of AODD were exclusively observed in CD-developing children in clinical samples of ADHD children followed into adolescence (e.g., Barkley et al. 1990; Gittleman et al. 1985). 

It has been concluded that CD, not ADHD, drives the risk of using alcohol or other drugs in middle- and late-aged adolescents. There are other reasonable reasons, too, so ADHD could still cause AODD. For instance, there may be an overlap between the diagnostic criteria for CD and AODD, or the conditions may co-occur at such high rates during adolescence that they are impossible to distinguish. 

As a result, ADHD may still be a valid cause of AODDs even though it contributes to CD and AODDs. Such claims are currently hypothetical, and proper longitudinal data analysis will be required to sort out the intricate causal linkages between ADHD, CD, and AODD. Get more info on ADHD in adults Australia today! 

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