title: What predicts illicit drug use versus police-registered drug offending? Findings from the Finnish "From a Boy to a Man" birth cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study whether drug offenders differ in childhood and in early adulthood from those who only report using illicit drugs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective nationwide birth cohort study. Baseline survey in 1989, follow-up data collection from self-reports, police and military registers in late adolescence and early adulthood.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two-thousand nine hundred and forty six Finnish boys born in 1981. Information about self-reported drug use at age 18 or police-registered drug offending at age 17-20 was available from 79.3% (n = 2,336) of the subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  At age 8, psychopathology was assessed using the parent and teacher Rutter scales and child self-reports (Child Depression Inventory). ICD-10 psychiatric diagnoses at early adulthood according to the military register were based on a medical examination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Childhood psychopathology did not predict self-reported drug use at age 18. Both conduct and hyperactivity problems at age 8 predicted drug offences at age 16-20. The predictive association with drug offences was strongest with severe level (over 90th percentile cut-off point) of conduct (OR 5.5, 95% CI 2.9-10.5) and hyperactivity problems (OR 5.0, 95% CI 2.7-9.3). Also moderate level of conduct (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.7-4.9) and hyperactivity problems (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.9-5.1) predicted drug offending. Having a psychiatric diagnosis in early adulthood associated with both self-reported use (OR 4.1, 95% CI 2.4-6.8) and drug offending (OR 13.2, 95% CI 8.3-21.2).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Drug offending is part of a life-course-persistent deviance, whereas for self-reporters, psychiatric problems arise later in life. Accordingly, the preventive needs, and the age period for intervention are different for boys with divergent illicit drug use involvement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. solnie@utu.fi
authors.forename: Solja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Niemelä
authors.forename: Andre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sourander
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Elonheimo
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Poikolainen
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Helenius
authors.forename: Jorma
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Piha
authors.forename: Kirsti
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kumpulainen
authors.forename: Irma
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Moilanen
authors.forename: Tuula
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tamminen
authors.forename: Fredrik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Almqvist
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003415:Crime / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D008297:Male; D010553:Personality Development; D016495:Police / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs