Few Differences in the Externalizing and Criminal History of Young Violent Offenders With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are known to be associated with an increased risk of aggression and challenging behavior. In this study, we have mapped the externalizing history of a nationally representative cohort of young violent offenders with ASD, compared with offenders without ASD. Two hundred and sixty-nine violent offenders were assessed for prevalence of ASD, and participated in a thorough assessment of previous externalizing problems and criminal history. Twenty-six offenders met consensus clinical DSM-IV criteria for ASD and they were compared to offenders without ASD from the same cohort. Overall, we found a very high prevalence of externalizing and antisocial behaviors in the history of these offenders and there were few differences between the groups. Placements in foster homes were overrepresented in the ASD group and the ASD-offenders had significantly more often been diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder (i.e. ASD or ADHD) by a clinician before the study. At index conviction, ASD offenders were overrepresented in sex crimes with a child victim. Though offenders without ASD had more previous convictions, in particular drug crimes, we found no difference in terms of total number of prosecuted crimes. Substance use disorders were more common among offenders without ASD. The ASD offenders scored higher compared to the non-ASD offenders on the Affective facet of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) but there were no differences in terms of total PCL-R scores. Our results provide important knowledge of the developmental history of offenders with ASD. Though this is a small and atypical phenotype it poses significant challenges to the criminal justice system and we need to understand more of it to be able to prevent these individuals from committing crimes but also to provide a fair judicial treatment, to assess exculpatory factors and improve our forensic treatment models.

Offending Trajectories in Violent Offenders: Criminal History and Early Life Risk Factors

“…Further, ADHD is likely too common in the cohort to meaningfully distinguish trajectory paths. The statistical prevalence of ASD across trajectory groups did not differ significantly, further emphasizing that individuals with ASD in the current cohort are similar to those without ASD in their criminal histories ( Hofvander et al, 2019 ). Intriguingly, all trajectory groups indicatively seemed to display, on average, lower results on the Verbal Comprehension Index compared to the Perceptual Organization Index ( Moffitt, 2018 ).…”

Trends in Autism Research in the Field of Education in Web of Science: A Bibliometric Study

“…ASD has been studied over the last six decades, as reflected in the results obtained. In the analysis of autism in the educational field, it can be seen how students can present problems in various capacities [2][3][4][5][9][10][11], as well as others that are an advantage [18,19] with respect to other people of typical development. In addition, special attention is paid to the use of technological resources to facilitate the satisfaction of these needs in order to achieve inclusion in learning spaces and society.…”

“…It is characterized by a disorder in social [2] and communication skills and by the appearance of repetitive and stereotyped behaviors [3]. Additionally, people with ASD can display deficiencies in executive functioning, sensory-perceptual behavior, and attention, and they can also present symptoms of depression [4], challenging behaviors, restricted interests [5], and problems with emotional control [6] at higher levels than other people with typical development [7]. Another of the more superficial and concurrent symptoms that they can present is anxiety, which is currently being investigated [8].…”

Case–control study on clinical characteristics of child and adolescent psychiatric outpatients with child-to-parent violence

“… 21 Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are known to be associated with an increased risk of aggression and challenging behaviour. 22 23 In this way, there is limited research that specifically evaluates the clinical characteristics of child and adolescent psychiatric patients with CPV visiting hospitals.…”