The Role of Emotional Distress and ADHD on Institutional Behavioral Disturbance and Recidivism Among Offenders

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the role of emotional distress as well as ADHD symptomatology in explaining (a) recidivism, (b) behavioral disturbances in prison, and (c) violent and nonviolent offending. Method: In all, 196 male prisoners from Aberdeen prison completed the Symptom Checklist–90, which examines various clinical symptoms and emotional distress. Current adult symptoms were assessed by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV) criteria for ADHD. Results: Emotional distress and ADHD explained the variance in prison records of behavioral disturbance above and beyond antisocial personality (ASP) traits; however, much of the effect of emotional distress was mediated by ADHD symptoms. Only ADHD symptoms were significantly associated to history of violent offending, whereas ASP and age mostly explained nonviolent offenses and overall recidivism. Conclusion: Our results provide support for the conceptual association between ADHD and its related emotional dimension with behavioral disturbance in prison, suggesting a link to reactive violence.