ORIGINAL ARTICLE Clinical symptoms of ADHD and psychopathy in perpetrators Wolfgang Retz • Samir S. T. Boureghda • Petra Retz-Junginger • Florence Philipp-Wiegmann • Michael Ro ¨sler Received: 18 July 2012 / Accepted: 19 October 2012 / Published online: 9 November 2012 Ó Springer-Verlag Wien 2012 Abstract ADHD and psychopathy are both associated with poor social adaptation and antisocial behavior. Pre- vious studies have also suggested that ADHD and psy- chopathy share some symptomatology. The current study attempted to further uncover the relationship between ADHD and psychopathy in perpetrators by investigating the possibility of underlying common factors of ADHD and psychopathy using standardized instruments. Correlation analyses and principal component analyses were performed on ADHD-SB self-rating questionnaires and the PCL-SV from a population of 314 offenders. Further, subjects without ADHD, full ADHD and partially remitted ADHD according to DSM-IV were compared regarding psycho- pathic traits. ADHD and psychopathy rating scores were found to be correlated. Only psychopathic features related to unstable and antisocial lifestyle, but not related to affective features of psychopathy accounted to this asso- ciation. Findings on the principal component analysis suggest that ADHD and psychopathy are unrelated on a symptomatic level, with the exception of impulsivity, which is a common feature that seems to combine both constructs. Keywords Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder Á Adult ADHD Á Psychopathy Á PCL-SV Á ADHD-SB Introduction ADHD is a frequent and highly heritable psychopatho- logical disorder in childhood, with approximately 6–9 % of school-age children being affected (Faraone et al. 2003). Evidence from several longitudinal studies indicates that the disorder will not abate during adolescence in many cases, but persists into adulthood as a full clinical picture or as a partial syndrome in 60 % of cases, with it becoming a chronic condition. According to an investigation of the World Health Organization, the transnational prevalence of adult ADHD is 3.4 % in individuals aged 18–44 years (Fayyad et al. 2007). Independent of age, inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsivity are the core symptoms of ADHD according to DSM-IV. However, besides disorga- nization in daily life, also emotional dysregulation in terms of affective lability, hot temper and over-reactivity have been considered in conceptualizations of adult ADHD (Retz et al. 2012). ADHD is associated with risks regarding daily functioning and social adaptation in several domains of life (Barkley 2002). School performance, professional success and interpersonal relations are often impaired. The number of jobs in a given time period is increased as well as the rate of separations and divorces. ADHD also increases the risk for violations of road traffic rules like speeding, driving after consumption of alcohol, driving without license and the prevalence of traffic accidents (Jerome et al. 2006). ADHD often co-occurs with other disruptive behavior disorders like oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) (Angold et al. 1999). It has been also shown that aggressive behavior in particular is a common phenomenon accompanying childhood ADHD (Barkley 1998; Hinshaw 1992). Moreover, longitudinal studies have revealed that ADHD is followed by increased W. Retz (&) Á S. S. T. Boureghda Á P. Retz-Junginger Á F. Philipp-Wiegmann Á M. Ro ¨sler Neurocenter—Institute for Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry, Saarland University Hospital, 66421 Homburg, Saarland, Germany e-mail: wolfgang.retz@uks.eu 123 ADHD Atten Def Hyp Disord (2013) 5:47–57 DOI 10.1007/s12402-012-0095-1