Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health recently conducted a study of 10,000 young men across the country and found that those diagnosed with childhood Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) appeared to be at an increased risk of developing criminal tendencies.
Specifically, the researchers found that those with ADHD “were twice as likely to commit thefts and 50 percent more likely to sell drugs.”
However, although researchers found that those with ADHD were more likely to commit crime, they could not determine any direct causes for this tendency and were at a loss to explain why those with ADHD would be at higher risk. For example, although those with ADHD might be more impulsive by nature, explaining—perhaps—the tendency toward theft, drug dealing requires understanding of complex variables and systems, supply/demand, cost/benefit analysis—requiring patience and delayed gratification. Some guess that because children with ADHD are less likely to graduate from high school, they turn to a life of crime. But that is only conjecture.
As well, researchers did not control for variables including use of medication, counseling, parenting style, etc., in their data collection. So there is no way to know whether treatment for ADHD had any effect on a future criminal behavior.
Are you the parent of a child with ADHD? What do you think about this research and how it might affect your child? Leave a comment.
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