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ADHD modulates the course of delinquency: a 15-year follow-up study of young incarcerated man

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Abstract

There is growing evidence of an association between ADHD and rule-breaking behaviour and that subjects with ADHD are more likely to be involved in the legal system. However, the research on ADHD as a risk factor not only for delinquency but also for recidivism is scarce and findings are controversial. Therefore, we explored the impact of ADHD on the course of delinquency in a sample of incarcerated young men. We conducted a 15-year follow-up study by investigating the criminal records of 106 former youth prisoners. Criminal recidivism was operationalized through three variables: criminal recidivism; frequency of recidivism; and time to recidivism. The incremental predictive validity of ADHD was analysed using survival analysis and controlled for confounders associated with recidivism. Offenders with ADHD (n = 74) reoffended 2.5 times faster and showed a higher rate of recidivism and further incarcerations compared to non-ADHD offenders (n = 33), even when controlling for general risk factors such as antisocial personality disorder. Median survival rate ranged between 6 and 7 months in the ADHD groups and 25 months in the non-ADHD group. Our results revealed that ADHD has an incremental predictive power on criminal recidivism, even above general risk factors. Moreover, the criminogenic influence of ADHD appeared to be crucial in terms of the interplay of childhood ADHD, irrespectively of the persistence of the symptomatology into later life. Our findings therefore highlight the importance of early intervention and consequently prevention.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Pauline Hellenthal in preparing study material and data collection and Dr. Darren Bishopp for his helpful comments on a previous draft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry, Saarland University, Homburg, Saar, Germany

    Florence Philipp-Wiegmann, Michael Rösler, Oriana Clasen, Toivo Zinnow & Petra Retz-Junginger

  2. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Saarland University Medical Center, Homburg, Germany

    Oriana Clasen

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany

    Wolfgang Retz

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  1. Florence Philipp-Wiegmann
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Correspondence to Florence Philipp-Wiegmann.

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Philipp-Wiegmann, F., Rösler, M., Clasen, O. et al. ADHD modulates the course of delinquency: a 15-year follow-up study of young incarcerated man. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 268, 391–399 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-017-0816-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-017-0816-8

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