Offending behaviour and ADHD

A recent study by Jan Roman-Ithier and colleagues published in 2016, conducted on prison population, reached the conclusion that self-reported attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was associated with age of first arrest and violent/non-violent offences. The research was conducted using self-reported retrospective measures of ADHD and a diagnostic interview for substance abuse disorder.

The most important point of this article is the over representation of people with ADHD in the prison population.

Limitations of the study include methodological issues of the data using self-reported, retrospective analysis of ADHD symptoms rather than relying on data obtained from more concrete sources such as doctors’ visits. Regardless, the study does set the idea that there may be an overabundance of ADHD in the prison population.

Key Takeaways:

Researchers are/have investigated a link between offending behavior and childhood ADHD.

Methodological problems arise when prisoners feign ADHD symptoms to obtain special treatment.

Because research suggests a correlation between ADHD and repeat offences, more attention should be given with providing services to help those with ADHD.

Author: Paul Whitely

Author Quote “

As with many things in life, the pros and cons of tackling such issues need to be weighed up on an individual basis assuming for example, that a life of offending and re-offending is probably not to be helpful to anyone.

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