Criminality and ADHD
By: John Kruse
Tags: Mental Health, Adhd, Trump, Criminal Justice Reform

Criminality and ADHD

Image by Gerhard G. from Pixabay

Mr. Trump recently triggered an uproar, similar to the one he caused four years ago, by refusing to agree in advance to abide by the voter’s decision in the presidential election. While his defenders have claimed that in this instance and many others (e. g. separation of powers, attempted bribery, emolument) he is simply ignorant of the Constitution, others have inferred criminal intent. After all, his actions led to impeachment. Before he became president, individuals filed several hundred lawsuits against him for contract disputes, defamation claims and sexual harassment. His pattern of behavior calls attention to the known connections between criminality and ADHD.

Dozens of studies find that we fill our prisons with a disproportionate number of individuals with ADHD. The calculated rates vary depending on the location, population studied, and methods used to assess for ADHD, but a meta-analysis from 2015 concluded that a quarter of our inmates have ADHD. While the majority of individuals with ADHD are decent, law abiding citizens, and I know many to be scrupulously honest, we imprison those with ADHD at rates several times greater than their presence in the general population.

Discussions about ADHD and criminality usually address how impulsivity leads to breaking rules because of disregard for the consequences of one’s actions. In addition, ADHD causes higher rates of substance abuse, poverty, and low educational attainment, all of which are associated with higher rates of imprisonment. Furthermore, ADHD in children, particularly in those who also display conduct disorders, increases the likelihood of developing antisocial personality disorder. Both biological and environmental factors contribute to the formation of antisocial personality traits. Mary Trump’s book exhaustively delineates how Donald Trump’s father taught him exploitative and amoral strategies for confronting the world. Forces of nature and nurture both contribute to creating criminality.

However, rates of imprisonment depend not only on rates of criminality, but also on how likely one is to be caught in their crime, the duration of one’s prison sentence, and whether one actually stays in jail for the duration of that sentence. I believe that for each of these factors, ADHD makes it more likely that an individual will be incarcerated at any point int time.

People are more likely to detect crimes committed by those with ADHD, because inattention to details, disregarding context, and poor planning all played a role in the illegal acts. Those with ADHD are more likely to blurt out self incriminating comments, either among friends, or when questioned by authorities, so they are more likely to be arrested. Numerous sources reported that Mr. Trump’s lawyers vehemently opposed his providing sworn testimony to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation because of fears that the president would perjure himself. or make statements that might lead to further investigations. Having ADHD makes it more likely that others will detect your crimes.

Because ADHD impairs both social interactions and the weighing of long term consequences of actions, those with ADHD are likely to be less skilled negotiators regarding sentencing. They are more likely to alienate judges or juries with inadvertent comments. Because ADHD correlates with fewer financial resources, those with ADHD, on average, will be more limited in affording legal representation. All these factors contribute to longer jail sentences for those with ADHD.

Once in jail, problems with attention to details, missing social cues, impulsivity, and decreased emotional regulation, cause those with ADHD to be more likely to violate rules, irritate fellow inmates, or alienate guards and staff. Certain aspects of the regimentation and structure imposed by prison may help some people with ADHD to lead more regulated lives. However, overall, ADHD interferes with the ability of an inmate to get out early for “good” behavior.

Framed this way, it may seem like I am indicting those with ADHD as a criminal element in our society. But knowing many good, productive, funny, generous, hard-working individuals with ADHD, both in my professional and social lives, encourages me to consider the problem in a different light. The Black Lives Matter has helped us to be more aware of institutionalized racism, particularly regarding a criminal justice system that institutionalizes so many young Black men. Similarly, we need to examine what is wrong with our society that if fails to find a better place than our prisons for so many with ADHD.

For several decades, the American prison system has “treated” more individuals with mental health disorders than any other segment of our mental health system. Yet the jails and prisons do not systematically evaluate the people arriving there. They usually administer mental health treatment only after crises occur. And to the particular detriment of those with ADHD, many mental health experts still consider it a “minor condition” despite its pervasive impact on information processing and expression, so it is accorded less attention and resources than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, or depression. Furthermore, even when ADHD is recognized behind bars, it is seldom treated because of bans on abusable stimulant medications in prisons, and the widespread ignorance of other effective treatments.

As activists have been pointing out for years, and many of us are now realizing, real criminal justice reform can only be accomplished with real social reform. While living together does require adopting some norms and standards for behavior, we need to be more mindful in crafting our laws. When we enforce our laws we need to balance societal needs with individual differences.

Our schools and rules need to find ways to educate those children less prone to sitting still, less inclined to stay focused on one topic for a long time, less likely to stay silent when their heads are full of ideas. Long before the police apprehend someone, we need to find ways to productively channel the energy, the insights, the goodness, of those with ADHD into activities that fulfill them and enrich our world.

We need to find better ways for those who deviate from the norm to contribute to society rather than locking them away for their differences. Rather than seeing those with ADHD as depraved, we need to look at how criminalization of ADHD has deprived our world of valuable human input.

A.B.O.U.T. Behavior #46 : ADHD and Criminality

ADHD Blog On Understanding Trump’s Behavior (A.B.O.U.T. Behavior) addresses recent utterances and actions of Mr. Trump that highlight his ADHD, and is not directed at his politics or policies. Not all people with ADHD behave like Mr. Trump, nor is ADHD Mr. Trump’s only mental health issue. bit.ly/TrumpADHDBook more fully explores Mr. Trump’s ADHD, the ethical basis for this diagnosis, ways to reduce ADHD-related stigma, and how to thrive in a world becoming evermore ADHD-like.