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Obstetric Complications, Parenting, and Risk of Criminal Behavior
Sheilagh Hodgins, PhD;
Lynn Kratzer, PhD;
Thomas F. McNeil, PhD
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001;58:746-752.
Background The results of studies that have examined the relationship between prenatal
and perinatal complications and adult criminality and violence are contradictory.
Supporting evidence for this relationship comes from studies of samples drawn
from a single cohort. The present study was designed to examine the associations
between prenatal and perinatal complications and criminality, defining more
precisely than past investigations subject characteristics and the types of
offenses.
Methods The cohort includes the 15 117 persons born in Stockholm, Sweden,
in 1953 and followed up to age 30 years. Information was extracted from obstetric
files, health, social, work, and criminal records. Obstetric complications
were defined as deviations from normal development occuring at any point from
conception through the neonatal period. Inadequate parenting was indexed by
social intervention.
Results Inadequate parenting was experienced by 19.1% of the men and 18.1% of
the women, and was shown to increase the risk of offending (men, 1.39 times
[95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.28-1.50]; women, 2.09 [95% CI, 1.70-2.56])
and of violent offending (men, 2.02 times [95% CI, 1.67-2.44]; women, 2.09
[95% CI, 1.70-2.56]). Obstetric complications in the absence of family problems
did not increase the risk of offending. A combination of pregnancy complications
and inadequate parenting affected 3.1% of the men and 4.0% of the women, and
increased the risk of offending (1.64 times [95% CI, 1.43-1.89]; 1.79 times
[95% CI, 1.16-2.75], respectively) and violent offending (2.86 times [95%
CI, 2.09-3.91]; 1.81 times [95% CI, 0.57-5.79]).
Conclusions A combination of pregnancy complications and inadequate parenting increased
the risk of violent and nonviolent offending only slightly more than inadequate
parenting alone. However, inadequate parenting was experienced by 5 times
more cohort members than was the combination of inadequate parenting and pregnancy
complications.
From the Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal,
Montréal, Québec (Dr Hodgins), and the Division of Forensic
Psychiatry, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden (Dr Hodgins); the Department
of Psychology, Concordia University, Montréal (Dr Kratzer); and the
Section of Epidemiology, Department of Community Medicine, University of Lund,
Malmö, Sweden (Dr McNeil).
Corresponding author and reprints: Shellagh Hodgins, PhD, Department
of Psychology, Université de Montréal, CP 6128, Succ. Centre
Ville, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3C 3J7 (e-mail: shellagh.hodgins{at}umontreal.ca).
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