The association between substance use co‐morbidity in adolescence and adult criminal behaviour

Abstract

AbstractThe impact of substance use co‐morbidity in adolescence on criminal behaviour in adulthood was investigated in a long‐term follow‐up study of former adolescent psychiatric in‐patients. A nationwide representative sample of 1 095 adolescents (46% females) was followed up 15‐33 years after admission to the National Centre for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Oslo, Norway. At index hospitalisation in adolescence, 32% fulfilled the DSM‐IV criteria for a co‐morbid substance use disorder (SUD). At follow‐up, 63% of all males and 39% of all females had received a court conviction. SUD in adolescence seemed to be a sine qua non for later registered overall criminality in females but not in males. The association between substance use co‐morbidity and later violent offending was strong in both genders. Substance use was closely associated with life‐course‐persistent criminality and more serious criminal careers in both genders. Substance use was also associated with increased mortality. Analysing secular trends in criminal activity during the last several decades, we found that substance use co‐morbidity remained an independent predictor for violent and drug related offences in both genders after controlling for cohort membership. The findings could help identify high‐risk populations in need of preventive interventions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.