Editorial: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Stimulant Medication, and Criminality: Commentary and Caution

Abstract

Pioneering longitudinal studies of boys with hyperactivity by Satterfield et al.¹ indicated that one of the most deleterious outcomes associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is later antisocial behaviors. This risk grows when ADHD is accompanied by severe behavior problems.² Though most children with ADHD will not go on to engage in criminal behavior, dimensional measures of externalizing behavior problems as well as categorical diagnoses of oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder have strong associations with ADHD. Moreover, cross-sectional studies of incarcerated adults indicate that 20% to 30% meet diagnostic criteria for ADHD.³ These associations between childhood ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, and conduct disorder and later criminal behavior beg the question of whether treatment of ADHD can reduce the severity of, or in some cases prevent, criminal behavior.