Antisocial personality disorder as a predictor of criminal behaviour in a longitudinal study of a cohort of abusers of several classes of drugs: Relation to type of substance and type of crime

TY - JOUR

T1 - Antisocial personality disorder as a predictor of criminal behaviour in a longitudinal study of a cohort of abusers of several classes of drugs

T2 - Relation to type of substance and type of crime

AU - Fridell, Mats

AU - Hesse, Morten

AU - Jæger, Mads Meier

AU - Kühlhorn, Eckart

PY - 2008/6/1

Y1 - 2008/6/1

N2 - Mixed findings have been made with regard to the long-term predictive validity of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) on criminal behaviour in samples of substance abusers. A longitudinal record-linkage study of a cohort of 1052 drug abusers admitted 1977-1995 was undertaken. Subjects were recruited from a detoxification and short-term rehabilitation unit in Lund, Sweden, and followed through criminal justice registers from their first treatment episode to death or to the year 2004. In a ML multinomial random effects regression, subjects diagnosed with antisocial personality disorders were 2.16 times more likely to be charged with theft only (p < 0.001), and 2.44 times more likely to be charged committing multiple types of crime during an observation year (p < 0.001). The findings of the current study support the predictive validity of the DSM-III-R diagnosis of ASPD. ASPD should be taken seriously in drug abusers, and be targeted in treatment to prevent crime in society.

AB - Mixed findings have been made with regard to the long-term predictive validity of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) on criminal behaviour in samples of substance abusers. A longitudinal record-linkage study of a cohort of 1052 drug abusers admitted 1977-1995 was undertaken. Subjects were recruited from a detoxification and short-term rehabilitation unit in Lund, Sweden, and followed through criminal justice registers from their first treatment episode to death or to the year 2004. In a ML multinomial random effects regression, subjects diagnosed with antisocial personality disorders were 2.16 times more likely to be charged with theft only (p < 0.001), and 2.44 times more likely to be charged committing multiple types of crime during an observation year (p < 0.001). The findings of the current study support the predictive validity of the DSM-III-R diagnosis of ASPD. ASPD should be taken seriously in drug abusers, and be targeted in treatment to prevent crime in society.

KW - Amphetamine

KW - Antisocial personality

KW - Crime

KW - Heroin

KW - Prospective

KW - Substance abuse

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=41249096990&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.addbeh.2008.01.001

DO - 10.1016/j.addbeh.2008.01.001

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 18258375

AN - SCOPUS:41249096990

SN - 0306-4603

VL - 33

SP - 799

EP - 811

JO - Addictive Behaviors

JF - Addictive Behaviors

IS - 6

ER -