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Background and AimsAnabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) use is associated with aggressive and violent behaviour, but it remains uncertain if this relationship is causal in humans. We examined the link between AAS use and violent crime while controlling for polysubstance abuse and additional suggested risk factors for violence. DesignCross-sectional study of a population-based sample. SettingIn 2005, all Swedish-born male twins aged 20-47 years were invited to participate in the Swedish Twin Adults: Genes and Environment (STAGE) survey of the Swedish Twin Register (response rate=60%). ParticipantsA total of 10365 male survey participants with information on AAS use. MeasurementData on self-reported use of AAS, alcohol and other substances, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and personality disorder symptoms were linked to nation-wide, longitudinal register information on criminal convictions, IQ, psychological functioning and childhood socio-economic status (SES) covariates. FindingsAny life-time use of AAS was associated strongly with conviction for a violent crime [2.7 versus 0.6% in convicted and non-convicted men, respectively; odds ratio (OR)=5.0, 95% confidence interval (CI)=2.7-9.3]. However, this link was substantially reduced and no longer significant when controlling for other substance abuse (OR=1.6, 95% CI=0.8-3.3). Controlling for IQ, psychological functioning, ADHD, personality disorder symptoms and childhood SES did not reduce the risk further. ConclusionIn the general population, co-occurring polysubstance abuse, but not IQ, other neuropsychological risks or socio-economic status, explains most of the relatively strong association between any anabolic androgenic steroid use and conviction for a violent crime.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of ADHD and psychiatric comorbidity, including substance use in incarcerated women. Method: This was a cross-sectional study, consisting of two parts: (a) screening using the ADHD Self-Rating Scale (ASRS) and (b) diagnostic assessment using a structured interview. Results: A sample of 96 incarcerated women was screened and 56 underwent the diagnostic assessment. Twenty-nine percent of the women met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) diagnostic criteria for adult ADHD in the diagnostic assessment. Forty-four of the women had misuse of alcohol, and 83% had misuse of narcotics the year prior to the incarceration. The ASRS showed sensitivity of 1.0 and specificity of 0.66. Conclusion: The prevalence rate of ADHD in incarcerated women was high and comparable to that in male offenders. Illicit stimulant use and antisocial personality disorder were significantly more common in women with ADHD. ASRS is useful as a screener in this population.

Background: Violent criminality is at least moderately heritable, but the mechanisms behind this remain largely unexplained. Height, a highly heritable trait, may be involved but no study has estimated the effect of height on crime while simultaneously accounting for important demographic, biological and other heritable confounders. Methods: We linked nationwide, longitudinal registers for 760 000 men who underwent mandatory military conscription from 1980 through 1992 in Sweden, to assess the association between height and being convicted of a violent crime. We used Cox proportional hazard modelling and controlled for three types of potential confounders: physical characteristics, childhood demographics and general cognitive ability (intelligence). Results: In unadjusted analyses, height had a moderate negative relationship to violent crime; the shortest of men were twice as likely to be convicted of a violent crime as the tallest. However, when simultaneously controlling for all measured confounders, height was weakly and positively related to violent crime. Intelligence had the individually strongest mitigating effect on the height-crime relationship. Conclusions: Although shorter stature was associated with increased risk of violent offending, our analyses strongly suggested that this relationship was explained by intelligence and other confounding factors. Hence, it is unlikely that height, a highly heritable physical characteristic, accounts for much of the unexplained heritability of violent criminality., AuthorCount:5

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of ADHD and psychiatric comorbidity, including substance use in incarcerated women. Method: This was a cross-sectional study, consisting of two parts: (a) screening using the ADHD Self-Rating Scale (ASRS) and (b) diagnostic assessment using a structured interview. Results: A sample of 96 incarcerated women was screened and 56 underwent the diagnostic assessment. Twenty-nine percent of the women met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) diagnostic criteria for adult ADHD in the diagnostic assessment. Forty-four of the women had misuse of alcohol, and 83% had misuse of narcotics the year prior to the incarceration. The ASRS showed sensitivity of 1.0 and specificity of 0.66. Conclusion: The prevalence rate of ADHD in incarcerated women was high and comparable to that in male offenders. Illicit stimulant use and antisocial personality disorder were significantly more common in women with ADHD. ASRS is useful as a screener in this population. (J. of Att. Dis. 2012; XX(X) 1-XX).