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Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder medicine can help reduce impulsive-reactive crimes and help guide treatment decisions in at-risk youth.
An elevated crime rate is quite common in people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the first-ever study aimed to understand whether receiving ADHD medication affects crime rates in individuals aged 10- to 18-year-olds.
Tarjei Widding-Havneraas and colleagues used variations in clinic prescribing practices as an instrumental variable to identify the causal impact of ADHD medication on crime rates in a total of 5624 children. To better isolate the medication's effect on criminal conduct, they concentrated on patients who received medication primarily as suggested by the provider.
It was observed that the distinction in the choice of medication between clinics led to quite a difference in patient treatment. Pharmacological treatment was associated with a reduction in certain types of criminal charges, specifically violence-related and public-order-related charges.
Instrumental variable analyses show that pharmacological treatment has a protective effect against violence-related and public-order charges, with numbers needed to treat 14 and 8, respectively—meaning one case of these charges is prevented for every 14 and 8 individuals treated.
Summing up, ADHD medication reduced impulsive-reactive offences in patients close to the treatment threshold but did not influence crimes involving intent, conspiracy, or planning.
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Effect of Pharmacological Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder on Criminality
Tarjei Widding-Havneraas et. al.
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