A study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that people with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder who are on medications for the condition are less likely to commit crimes. ADHD is associated with conduct problems in children and adults, and it is common for people with this disorder to stop taking their prescribed medications. These medications control patients’ impulsiveness, irritability and restlessness. According to the lead author of this study, by helping control these symptoms, especially impulsiveness, the drugs may also prevent patients from engaging in illegal acts including violent behaviors. More than 25,000 ADHD patients were used in this study, and the results found that patients receiving medication were less likely to commit crimes than those who weren’t. They suggest that prison populations could benefit from ADHD screening, as appropriate treatment could help reduce repeat offenses.
This is relevant to class because we have discussed ADHD drugs
(stimulants and amphetamines) and their effects. While the drugs may be
beneficial in some ways, it’s a little hard to believe that people can rely on them
to help reduce crimes. We learned that heavy use of amphetamines could cause
symptoms that resemble schizophrenia. I think this could be a problem because
people that are committing crimes/people in prison may have other mental
disorders aside from ADHD, and they may misuse the medication if it is prescribed
to them.
I agree that the misuse of the medication is an issue. Most individuals most likely don’t need ADHD medication, and taking the medication could have serious side effects or exacerbate an underlying condition that these convicts might not be aware of. Regardless, I don’t believe medication should be used as a cure all. Even for ADHD there are other treatment options like behavior therapy or family therapy. Also, doesn't proper ADHD screening take hours for just one individual? Prison populations aren't small, and I feel like for that reason alone many people could be misdiagnosed because implementing reliable screening is time consuming and costly. The side effects of ADHD weren't mentioned, but I believe one is mood swings? Increasing mood swings in prison populations seems a bit counterproductive if the goal is to reduce criminal activity.
ReplyDeleteThis actually doesn't surprise me too much. While it is known that stimulants typically increase aggression and irritability, a lot of times it has a sort of paradoxical affect (at prescribed doses) on people with ADHD. It can cause people with ADHD to calm down and feel more relaxed. This is likely due to its ability to stimulate the prefrontal cortex, which is typically underdeveloped. The prefrontal cortex sends inhibitory signals to the rest of the brain, so if its ability to work is increased, it can cause someone with ADHD to feel more relaxed and less hyper.
ReplyDeleteI am under the impression that if one does not have ADHD that the medicines have a nearly opposite effect. What i mean is that one is really alert and up for hours. I feel that if it becomes a "go-to" drug for prisoners that the results will be detrimental to the goal. This is excluding some of the more serious side effects of such drugs.
ReplyDeleteI can see how it could curb criminal activity in those who have been properly diagnosed. Children with ADHD are hyper and irritable and want attention. It has been by experience , with children with ADHD, that proper medication calms them and makes them more pleasant. If looking at the results from that perspective, i could see how it could lead to a lower crime rate.
I agree with Mark, in that this doesn't surprise me all that much. It is obvious that these patients were prescribed medications for a reason, and it they refuse to take their medications, negative effects are likely to happen. The 3 things claimed to be treated in this article are impulsiveness, irritability, and restlessness. All 3 of these things are side effects that most likely lead to bad things. They could lead to drug use, commit crimes, skip school, etc. I believe that the doctors who prescribe these medications needs to be more clear on the side effects if they do not take the medication regularly. I don't think screening convicts in prison is that good of an idea unless they are going to be set free soon. Then you can screen them for ADHD and test to see if medication calms them down. This could lead to them being more relaxed and not focused on committing crimes.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that ADHD medication should be used to "curb crime" so to say. It should only be used if the individual has ADHD. While the medication itself may help with irritability and restlessness, you shouldn't take it just for those reasons if you don't actually have the disease it's intended for. There could be harmful side effects to taking this medication if you're not battling ADHD and could perhaps lead to other drug misuse and that wouldn't be beneficial at all. I think taking medication not for it's intended use would do more harm than good in the long run.
ReplyDeleteThis article seems pretty logical. I think it is simply making the observation that the symptoms of ADHD make those affected by it more likely to commit crimes. Logically, when these symptoms are treated the predisposition to commit crime will be decreased. I dont think the article was suggesting a blanket treatment of prison but I do agree that you would need to be careful not to over-prescribe the medications. The tendency to over- prescribe is already present in society and using these ADHD drugs in cases other than ADHD could actually increase behaviors such as impulsiveness and restlessness.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the point that Gloria brought up about being able to test prison populations for ADHD. I think that it could be useful to do, but you would have to weigh the price vs the potential outcomes. It does take multiple hours (often over a couple days) to test someone for ADHD, and the testing is not cheap. I believe it can cost upwards of $200 per hour, including the time it takes for the administrator of the test to write up a report, which adds even more time to the process. If the funds and human resources were available, it could be beneficial for those inmates that already display some of the symptoms of ADHD. If there are no symptoms present, however, and you want to test every inmate, I'm not sure that it would be worth the cost of those resources. I also agree that these medications should not be a blanket solution, but I don't think that is what the article is suggesting at all.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting application of something that we know, though. Those with ADHD that are on medication tend not to get into trouble with the law. Could it help reduce crime in general if we knew whether or not the inmates have ADHD or a different psychological disorder that we may be able to help them with?
I think their may be some validity to this. A good deal of the problems that people who have ADHD face deal with impulsiveness. If an individual who has ADHD is being medicated and the medication is working as it is intended it should alleviate at least some of the impulsiveness. From personal experience I know that there is often only a few seconds difference between making good and bad decisions and if the medication can provide a few seconds of clear thought it is not surprising that it would be highly beneficial in curbing the impulses that make us act unfavorably without taking the time to consider said actions.
ReplyDelete