ADHD and delinquency--a developmental perspective

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders of childhood and adolescence. Until now, it has been unclear whether ADHD by itself constitutes a risk factor for later delinquency or does so only in combination with other disruptive symptoms. This article seeks to give a comprehensive account of the literature to shed light on the developmental pathway from childhood ADHD to adult criminality. Comorbid ADHD and conduct disorder (CD) are significantly related to a range of biological and environmental risk factors such as neurocognitive impairment, high parental psychopathology, poor social functioning, and other comorbid mental disorders, particularly substance abuse, that are described in this review. In addition, the results of treatment studies are presented, with a special focus on the results of the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA). Although treatment programs, including medication and psychosocial treatment, can be very effective in improving the functioning of children with ADHD in the social and academic domains in the short term, there is no conclusive evidence that such treatments lower the risk for developing delinquency in adulthood.