Abstract
The most frequent reason for referral to the child and adolescent psychiatric hospitals in Denmark is the suspicion that a child or an adolescent may have Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The purpose of this dissertation was to assess how often ADHD has been diagnosed in Denmark, to assess the validity of the ADHD diagnoses given to children and adolescents, to describe the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of Danish children and adolescents with ADHD, and to assess their long-term risk for crimes.
In the years under investigation, the incidence rates of diagnosed ADHD had significantly increased and the majority of ADHD diagnoses given to children and adolescents could be confirmed and were given based on high-quality clinical assessments. Results supported that children and adolescents with ADHD constitute a heterogeneous group that often have comorbid psychiatric problems, and overall tend to have an aggregation of risk factors for criminality. Both the meta-analysis and analyses of the Danish data confirmed, that childhood ADHD increases the risk of long-term criminality. Not only ADHD but also comorbidity, low socio-economic status, parental psychopathology, and parental antisocial involvement were among significant risk factors for criminality and therefore a patient and family-oriented approach to treatment and prevention is warranted.
In the years under investigation, the incidence rates of diagnosed ADHD had significantly increased and the majority of ADHD diagnoses given to children and adolescents could be confirmed and were given based on high-quality clinical assessments. Results supported that children and adolescents with ADHD constitute a heterogeneous group that often have comorbid psychiatric problems, and overall tend to have an aggregation of risk factors for criminality. Both the meta-analysis and analyses of the Danish data confirmed, that childhood ADHD increases the risk of long-term criminality. Not only ADHD but also comorbidity, low socio-economic status, parental psychopathology, and parental antisocial involvement were among significant risk factors for criminality and therefore a patient and family-oriented approach to treatment and prevention is warranted.
| Translated title of the contribution | ADHD hos danske børn og unge: Incidens, validitet, psykiatrisk komorbiditet og antisocial udvikling |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisors |
|
| Publisher | |
| Electronic ISBNs | 978-87-7112-515-3 |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
Bibliographical note
PhD supervisors: Professor Hans-Christoph Steinhausen, Aalborg University HospitalProfessor Kristine Jensen de Lopez, Center for Developmental and Applied Psychological Science, Aalborg University