1,273
Views
3
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Articles

Police perceptions of ADHD in youth interviewees

&
Pages 509-526 | Received 09 Mar 2016, Accepted 23 Dec 2016, Published online: 10 Feb 2017
 

ABSTRACT

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in witness-victim/suspect interviews holds strong relevance for policing. Four purpose-written vignettes were used to test the extent to which ADHD interviewee behaviour impacts on the work of 46 experienced Australian detectives and their ability to identify ADHD as a likely diagnosis. Detectives reported frequently encountering ADHD-type interviewees in their work; perceiving such interviewees to be at a very significant risk of future contact with the criminal justice system; and perceiving ADHD-type behaviour to exert a highly significant impact on interviewing time efficiency as well as quality. Detectives gave highly significant ratings of ADHD as a likely explanation of vignettes describing ADHD-type behaviour for witness-victims as well as suspects. However, they could not identify ADHD as the most likely explanation over and above other possibilities. Implications are discussed in terms of a rationale for future research targeting police awareness and training needs in ADHD.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the assistance provided by the Queensland Police Service. The views expressed in this material are those of the authors and are not those of the Queensland Police Service. Responsibility for any errors of omission or commission remains with the authors. The Queensland Police Service expressly disclaims any liability for any damage resulting from the use of the material contained in this publication and will not be responsible for any loss, howsoever arising, from use of or reliance on this material.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This project did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors. Author A currently receives financial support via an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 53.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 199.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.