Criminal recidivism in offenders with and without intellectual disability sentenced to forensic psychiatric care in Sweden—A 17-year follow-up study

Abstract

Background: Offenders with intellectual disability (ID) constitute a distinct subgroup of offenders with mental disorders. Regarding criminal recidivism, it is unclear whether or not offenders with ID in forensic psychiatric settings differ from offenders without ID. Factors associated with criminal recidivism among offenders with ID have been scarcely investigated. Aim: To investigate the association between ID and criminal recidivism among offenders sentenced to forensic psychiatric care and to explore the impact of clinical, sociodemographic and offense variables. Materials and methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study based on Swedish nationwide registers. A total of 3,365 individuals being sentenced to forensic psychiatric care in Sweden in 1997–2013 were followed from the forensic psychiatric assessment until first reconviction, death, emigration, or 31 December 2013, whichever occurred first. Cox regression models compared rates of recidivism in individuals with and without ID. Impact of clinical, sociodemographic, and offense variables on risk of criminal recidivism was presented as hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Out of 3,365 offenders sentenced to forensic psychiatric care, 259 (7.7%) were diagnosed with ID. During follow-up (0–17 years, median 6 years), one third (n = 1,099) of the study population relapsed into criminality, giving a recidivism rate of 50.5 per 1,000 person-years. We observed an association between ID and a decreased risk of recidivism (HR 0.8, 95% CI 0.6–1.0, p = 0.063), although this reached statistical significance only for the subgroup of male offenders (HR 0.8, 95% CI 0.6–1.0, p = 0.040) and not females (HR 1.0, 95% CI 0.6–1.8). ID offenders with concurrent ADHD tended to have a higher rate of recidivism (73.9 per 1,000 person-years, HR 1.2, 95% CI 0.6–2.4) than ID offenders without ADHD (42.5 per 1,000 person-years, HR 0.8, 95% CI 0.6–1.1). Amongst ID offenders, concurrent autism spectrum disorder, young age or male sex were not associated with recidivism, while previous criminal convictions were strongly associated with recidivism. Conclusion: A diagnosis of ID was associated with a lower risk of criminal recidivism among male offenders sentenced to forensic psychiatric care. The association between ADHD and recidivism among ID offenders highlights eligible focus areas in the management of offenders with ID.