Hypertroubled

By David Bjerklie

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tend to have a hard time in school--and after school too. A new study by the University of Pittsburgh finds that children with severe, persistent ADHD are more likely to drink, smoke cigarettes and use other drugs as teenagers. The good news, according to another study by Massachusetts General Hospital, is that if these children are treated with Ritalin (itself no panacea), they are no more likely than their peers without ADHD to develop drug and alcohol problems. --D.B.