Retrospective Evaluation of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder With the Wender Utah Rating Scale in a Sample of Spanish Prison Inmates

• NCJ Number: 236887
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 56 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2011 Pages: 1556-1561
• Author(s): Milagros Vegue-Gonzalez, M.D., Ph.D.; Enrique Alvaro-Brun, M.D., Ph.D.; Andres Santiago-Saez, M.D., Ph.D.; Atef Kanaan-Kanaan, M.D., Ph.D.
• Date Published: November 2011
• Length: 6 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Test/Measurement
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of childhood history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a sample of prison inmates.

Abstract

This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study, which consisted of a sample of 100 inmates from penitentiary centers in Madrid. The instruments used were the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS), the International Personality Disorder Examination, and a questionnaire of demographic, penitentiary, and toxicological data. For statistical analysis, the SPSS program was used with confidence interval estimation of 95 percent. The mean score of the WURS was 65.7 points. Fifty percent of the sample surpassed the cut-off point of 32 for the 25 best discriminative items in the Spanish validated version. A significant association was found between a childhood history of ADHD and antisocial and borderline personality disorders. The disorder was also found to be associated with autoaggressive behavior, more probability to be sanctioned in prison, and have a history of substance dependence. (Published Abstract)