Challenging Bias in Forensic Psychological Assessment and Treatment for People with ADHD

Abstract

ADHD is a disorder which appears across the lifespan with an estimated pre-valence of 2.5% of adults meeting the criteria for a diagnosis (Simon et al., 2009). It is associated with early onset offending (Mohr-Jensen & Steinhausen, 2016) and higher rates of reoffending in adults (Young et al., 2011) with approximately 2.8 million prisoners worldwide meeting the diagnostic criteria for ADHD (Young et al., 2018). The purpose of this chapter is to highlight how bias may contribute to barriers in diagnosis/treatment of ADHD and provide practical suggestions for how these may be overcome.