ADHD Symptoms, Comorbidities, Social, and Familial Adversities on Offences

Abstract

Attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) manifests with symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. The long term consequences of ADHD have been explored on different dimensions such as physical growth, cognitive functions, and other mental health problems. The link between ADHD and criminal activities in adolescents and adulthood were also studied cross sectional and longitudinal methods\xa0\xa0 and many found a relation with criminal activities. But it is important to explore how the disorder, its symptoms, co morbidities including addiction, social and familial adversities affects the relation. This chapter attempted to find the link on these dimensions. Studies have pointed out that ADHD diagnosis poses the increased risk for committing offenses and repetition of acts as well as prone for bullying and victimization, and it is not the symptoms but other environmental and familial factors are also need to be looked in to understand the link between ADHD and crime. Though many studies have shown an association of ADHD with co morbid Addictive disorders to crime, more studies are required to establish exact nature of the relationship.