ADHD and Antisocial Behavior: Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile Delinquency: ADHD and Antisocial Behavior

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is, in basic terms, a mental health disorder typified by inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illnesses (NAMI), approximately 1 out of every 10 children in the U.S. is living with ADHD, yet only 56% of these receive treatment or even diagnosis for the same. This text attempts to establish a connection between ADHD and juvenile delinquency.

Significance

Scores of researchers have identified untreated ADHD as a risk factor for future delinquent/antisocial behavior. The NAMI expresses that 47% of youths in juvenile correctional facilities are living with ADHD. Foley, et al.'s (1996) findings mirror this perspective. In their view, adolescents living with ADHD have a higher likelihood of arrest (58% to 36%), compared to their age mates without the condition. These findings depict a strong, positive correlation between ADHD and juvenile/adult delinquency. This can rightly be translated to mean that the early diagnosis and treatment of ADHD could go a long way in reducing overall resultant crime levels. Early diagnosis and treatment is, however, only possible if parents and caretakers are given adequate education on the risk factors and identifiable symptoms of ADHD.

ADHD and/or Delinquency: Predisposing Factors

Foley, et al. (1996, p. 337) identify three categories of factors that not only predispose a child to ADHD, but also co-occur with the same in the manifestation of antisocial behavior: Familial Factors: these collectively refer to those factors within the family unit that could prevent a child from obtaining the necessary parental guidance, care or supervision needed for their complete development. Key factors in this regard include poor marital relations, inadequate parental involvement in the child's development, and negative parent-child relations, all of which would make a child more vulnerable to peer-driven mischief from external quarters (Foley, et al., 1996, p. 337). According to the authors, children who have been separated from their parents have a higher possibility of exhibiting ADHD and/or delinquency, compared to their counterparts in complete families. Furthermore, children from broken families are three times more likely be diagnosed with ADHD; whereas those exposed to parents with antisocial/delinquent behavior have an 11% likelihood of exhibiting future antisocial tendencies (Foley, et al., 1996, p. 337).

Social Factors: According to the academic failure hypothesis, children with ADHD or other learning disability are less likely to achieve academic success, even though they may have "average to above-average intellectual potential" (Kidder, 2010). As a matter of fact, children with ADHD are less likely to complete school compared to those with other mental disorders (NAMI, 2014). In a classroom setting, inattentiveness would typically translate to difficulty in solving problems that other children of the same age would have no difficulty solving. The teacher would often interpret this as laziness, and would implore the child to work harder, because they have the ability to do better (Kidder, 2010).

If the child tries repeatedly with no success forthcoming, their self-esteem plummets, interaction with peers decreases, and a pattern of social and academic withdrawal results, leading to a spiral of emotional issues, drug and substance abuse, and antisocial behavior (Kidder, 2010). This trend of underachievement and academic frustration is likely to result in one leaving school, and externalizing these antisocial habits into society.

Environmental Factors: this category encompasses those factors that influence a child's development, which are outside the family and school units, but within a child's external environment. The key elements in this case are deteriorated neighborhoods, which not only facilitate the creation of criminal schemes, but also provide the numbers needed for the execution of the same; and over-stimulating movies and TV shows.

Theoretical Framework: The Coercion Theory

Notwithstanding the inherent significance of all the three factor categories above, familial factors tend to have the strongest influence. A competent mother would easily insulate their child against negative external influences, even in deteriorated neighborhoods and under unfavorable school conditions (Foley, et al., 1996, p. 338). The effect of the three factors can, towards this end, be summarized using the Coercion Theory, which postulates that "child aversive behavior is maintained by parental responses which provide both positive and negative reinforcement" (OReilly, 2005, p. 58). This can be interpreted to mean that despite the existence of other contributory factors, ineffective parenting skills and the lack of parental guidance/supervision instigate the development of antisocial habits. This could be presented in a three-phase model involving:

Phase 1: the parent is challenged by their child's undesirable behavior. They do not know how to effectively deal with the same; and thereby opt for ineffective discipline techniques - for instance denying the child the chance to attend a school trip, as punishment for their negative behavior. The child wrongly interprets this as rejection (negative feedback).

Phase 2: the 'errant' child carries their undesirable behavior to their social environment, including school. His peers and classmates reject him due to his aversive and opposition tendencies. He has difficulty fitting into class group discussions and study groups, and falls behind as he is unable to keep pace with the rest of the class. The teacher labels him as lazy and problematic.