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Childhood Conduct Problems, Hyperactivity-impulsivity, and Inattention as Predictors of Adult Criminal Activity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 1999

Leslie M. Babinski
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, U.S.A.
Carolyn S. Hartsough
Affiliation:
University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A.
Nadine M. Lambert
Affiliation:
University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A.
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Abstract

This study reconsiders the relationship of childhood Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and childhood conduct problems with adult criminal activity by clarifying the role of the cardinal behaviors associated with the DSM-IV ADHD subtypes (inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity). Since their childhood (average age 9 years), 230 male and 75 female subjects have been followed prospectively and were interviewed as young adults (average age 26 at follow-up). Early childhood behavior ratings by parents and teachers were examined to determine the role of conduct problems, hyperactivity-impulsivity, and inattention in predicting adult criminal involvement as measured by both official arrest records and self-report. Results show that both hyperactivity-impulsivity and early conduct problems independently, as well as jointly, predict a greater likelihood of having an arrest record for males, but not for females. For male subjects with 10 or more self-reported crimes, both early conduct problems and hyperactivity-impulsivity were significant predictors, both alone and in combination. Therefore, it appears that predominantly the symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity, but not inattention, contribute to the risk for criminal involvement over and above the risk associated with early conduct problems alone.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1999 Association for Child Psychology and Psychiatry

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