Crime and Psychiatric Disorders Among Youth in the US population: An Analysis of the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement

Objective Current knowledge regarding psychiatric disorders and crime in youth is limited to juvenile justice and community samples. This study examined relationships between psychiatric disorders and self-reported crime involvement in a sample of youth representative of the US population. Method The National Comorbidity Survey–Adolescent Supplement (N = 10,123; ages 13–17 years; 2001–2004) was used to examine the relationship between lifetime DSM-IV–based diagnoses, reported crime (property, violent, other), and arrest history. Logistic regression compared the odds of reported crime involvement with specific psychiatric disorders to those without any diagnoses, and examined the odds of crime by psychiatric comorbidity. Results Prevalence of crime was 18.4%. Youth with lifetime psychiatric disorders, compared to no disorders, had significantly greater odds of crime, including violent crime. For violent crime resulting in arrest, conduct disorder (CD) (odds ratio OR = 57.5; 95% CI = 30.4, 108.8), alcohol use disorders (OR = 19.5; 95% CI = 8.8, 43.2), and drug use disorders (OR = 16.1; 95% CI = 9.3, 27.7) had the greatest odds with similar findings for violent crime with no arrest. Psychiatric comorbidity increased the odds of crime. Youth with 3 or more diagnoses (16.0% of population) accounted for 54.1% of those reporting arrest for violent crime. Youth with at least 1 diagnosis committed 85.8% of crime, which was reduced to 67.9% by removing individuals with CD. Importantly, 88.2% of youth with mental illness reported never having committed any crime. Conclusion Our findings highlight the importance of improving access to mental health services for youthful offenders in community settings, given the substantial associations found between mental illness and crime in this nationally representative epidemiological sample

Psychiatric Disorders and Crime in the US Population: Results From the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions Wave III

Objective: Current knowledge regarding the intersection of psychiatric disorders and crime in the United States is limited to psychiatric, forensic, and youth samples. This study presents nationally representative data on the relationship of DSM-5 psychiatric disorders, comorbid substance and mental health disorders, and multimorbidity (number of disorders) with criminal behavior and justice involvement among non-institutionalized US adults. Methods: Data were drawn from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions Wave III (NESARC-III; 2012-2013; N = 36,309). Logistic regressions were used to examine the association of specific disorders (eg, mood, anxiety, eating, posttraumatic stress, substance use), comorbid substance use and mental health disorders, and multimorbidity with lifetime criminal behavior, incarceration experience, and past-12-month general, alcohol-related, and drug-related legal problems. Results: Overall, 28.5% of participants reported a history of criminal behavior, 11.4% reported a history of incarceration, 1.8% reported current general legal problems, 0.8% reported current alcohol-related legal problems, and 2.7% reported current drug-related legal problems. The presence of any disorder was associated with a 4 to 5 times increased risk of crime outcomes. Drug use disorders were associated with the highest risk of lifetime crime (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 6.8; 95% CI, 6.1-7.6) and incarceration (AOR = 4.7; 95% CI, 4.1-5.3) and current legal problems (AOR = 3.3; 95% CI, 2.6-4.2). Multimorbidity and comorbid substance use and mental health disorders were associated with additional risk. Controlling for antisocial personality disorder did not change the findings. Conclusions: Community adults with substance use disorders, comorbid substance use and mental health disorders, and increasing multimorbidity are most at risk of crime and justice involvement, highlighting the importance of community-based addiction treatment