Citation

Sibley MH, Pelham WE, Molina BS, Gnagy EM, Waschbusch DA, Biswas A, MacLean MG, Babinski DE, Karch KM. J. Abnorm. Child Psychol. 2011; 39(1): 21-32.

Affiliation

Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, HLSI Room 146; 11200 SW 8th St., Miami, FL, 33199, USA, mhsibley@buffalo.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10802-010-9443-9

PMID

20697799

PMCID

PMC2978775

Abstract

This study examined the association between childhood ADHD and juvenile delinquency by examining data from the Pittsburgh ADHD Longitudinal Study (PALS), a follow-up study of individuals diagnosed with ADHD in childhood (ages 5-12) and recontacted in adolescence and young adulthood for yearly follow-up (age at first follow-up interview M = 17.26, SD = 3.17). Participants were 288 males with childhood ADHD and 209 demographically similar males without ADHD who were recruited into the follow-up study. Delinquency information gathered yearly during the second through eighth follow-up provided a comprehensive history of juvenile delinquency for all participants. Four childhood diagnostic groups ADHD-only (N = 47), ADHD + ODD (N = 135), ADHD + CD (N = 106), and comparison (N = 209) were used to examine group differences on delinquency outcomes. Analyses were conducted across three dimensions of delinquency (i.e., severity, age of initiation, and variety). Individuals with childhood ADHD + CD displayed significantly worse delinquency outcomes than the other three groups, across almost all indices of offending. When compared to comparison participants, boys with ADHD-only and ADHD + ODD in childhood displayed earlier ages of delinquency initiation, a greater variety of offending, and higher prevalence of severe delinquency. These findings suggest that although childhood ADHD + CD creates the greatest risk for delinquency, boys with ADHD-only and ADHD + ODD also appear at a higher risk for later offending. The patterns of offending that emerged from the PALS are discussed in the context of the relationship between ADHD, comorbidity, and delinquency.

Language: en