Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and ...

There is a strong consensus among criminologists that impaired self-control plays a central role in the developmental origins of crime. It therefore follows that interventions to enhance self-control should be an essential component of an overall approach to the prevention of criminal offending. Unfortunately, these approaches have typically failed to appreciate the relevance of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which is essentially a disorder of self-control, to criminal offending. This article addressed this neglect by reviewing the literature that establishes ADHD as a major risk factor in the development of criminal offending in males which results in a disproportionate concentration of males with ADHD in the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems. The implications for prevenction based upon this conclusion were discussed.