Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment, University of Montreal and Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
PLoS One. 2013 May 1;8(5):e62594. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0062594. Print 2013.
Research shows that children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder are at elevated risk of criminality. However, several issues still need to be addressed in order to verify whether hyperactivity in itself plays a role in the prediction of criminality. In particular, co-occurrence with other behaviors as well as the internal heterogeneity in ADHD symptoms (hyperactivity and inattention) should be taken into account. The aim of this study was to assess the unique and interactive contributions of hyperactivity to the development of criminality, whilst considering inattention, physical aggression and family adversity.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We monitored the development of a population-based sample of kindergarten children (N = 2,741). Hyperactivity, inattention, and physical aggression were assessed annually between the ages of 6 and 12 years by mothers and teachers. Information on the presence, the age at first charge and the type of criminal charge was obtained from official records when the participants were aged 25 years. We used survival analysis models to predict the development of criminality in adolescence and adulthood: high childhood hyperactivity was highly predictive when bivariate analyses were used; however, with multivariate analyses, high hyperactivity was only marginally significant (Hazard Ratio: 1.38; 95% CI: 0.94-2.02). Sensitivity analyses revealed that hyperactivity was not a consistent predictor. High physical aggression was strongly predictive (Hazard Ratio: 3.44; 95% CI: 2.43-4.87) and its role was consistent in sensitivity analyses and for different types of crime. Inattention was not predictive of later criminality.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Although the contribution of childhood hyperactivity to criminality may be detected in large samples using multi-informant longitudinal designs, our results show that it is not a strong predictor of later criminality. Crime prevention should instead target children with the highest levels of childhood physical aggression and family adversity.
研究表明，患有注意缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）的儿童犯罪风险较高。然而，为了验证多动本身是否在预测犯罪方面发挥作用，仍有几个问题需要解决。特别是，应考虑多动与其他行为的共发性以及 ADHD 症状（多动和注意力不集中）的内部异质性。本研究旨在评估多动对犯罪发展的独特和交互作用，同时考虑到注意力不集中、身体攻击和家庭逆境。
方法/主要发现：我们监测了一个基于人群的幼儿园儿童样本（N=2741）的发展情况。在 6 至 12 岁期间，母亲和教师每年都会评估儿童的多动、注意力不集中和身体攻击情况。当参与者 25 岁时，从官方记录中获取了存在、首次犯罪年龄和犯罪类型的信息。我们使用生存分析模型来预测青少年和成年期的犯罪发展：在使用双变量分析时，儿童时期的多动程度较高具有高度预测性；然而，在多变量分析中，高多动程度仅略有显著意义（危险比：1.38；95%置信区间：0.94-2.02）。敏感性分析表明，多动并不是一个一致的预测指标。高身体攻击具有很强的预测性（危险比：3.44；95%置信区间：2.43-4.87），其作用在敏感性分析和不同类型的犯罪中是一致的。注意力不集中与以后的犯罪无关。
结论/意义：尽管使用多信息纵向设计在大样本中可以检测到儿童多动对犯罪的贡献，但我们的结果表明，它并不是以后犯罪的强有力预测指标。相反，犯罪预防应该针对那些具有最高水平儿童身体攻击和家庭逆境的儿童。
