Drugs that curb hyperactivity and boost attention might help curb crime, according to a Swedish study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study found that individuals diagnosed with Attention Defi cit Hyperactivity Disorder were four to seven times more likely to break the law; however, when certain drugs were introduced, the likelihood of committing a crime was reduced by 32 percent in men and 41 percent in women.
“There are pros and cons to medication,” said Dr. Paul Lichtenstein, the study’s author. Medication works best for adults 18 to 25 and for newly released prisoners, he said.
The study examined the effective use of Ritalin, Adderall, and other drugs that curb hyperactivity in the treatment of criminal behavior, according a report by The Associated Press.
The study provides a “very suggestive piece of evidence” supporting medication, said associate professor Jason Fletcher of the Yale School of Public Health. He added that “because crime is so expensive, if you can reduce it, even by half of what they’re saying, you might still say this is really effective medication.”
“The study adds a lot,” said Dr. Gabrielle Carlson, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Stony Brook University medical school, who was not involved in the study. “Cutting the crime rate, that’s not trivial. Maybe it will get some help for people in jail. It gives people who were on the fence maybe a little more confidence in this treatment.”
San Quentin psychologist Ruth Bertrand says the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is able to screen offenders for ADHD, but does not routinely do so. According to Dr. Bertrand, ADHD is primarily a childhood disorder that is often outgrown. However, if an “individual is previously diagnosed with ADHD, they are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.”
“There definitley is a perception that it’s a disease of childhood and you outgrow your need for medicines,” said Dr. William Cooper, a pediatric and preventive medicine professor at Vanderbilt University.
“About half of children with ADHD will continue to have troublesome symptoms of inattention or impulsivity as adults,” states an article in Psychiatry magazine. The article further stated adults “tend to develop coping mechanisms to compensate for some or all of their impairment.”
“Every child suspected of having ADHD should be carefully examined by a doctor to rule out possible other conditions or reasons for the behavior,” says The PubMed Heath website. It also stresses that “depression, lack of sleep, learning disabilities, tic disorders, and behavior problems may be confused with, or appear with, ADHD.”
