Obstetric complications, parenting, and risk of criminal behavior.

BACKGROUND The results of studies that have examined the relationship between prenatal and perinatal complications and adult criminality and violence are contradictory. Supporting evidence for this relationship comes from studies of samples drawn from a single cohort. The present study was designed to examine the associations between prenatal and perinatal complications and criminality, defining more precisely than past investigations subject characteristics and the types of offenses. METHODS The cohort includes the 15 117 persons born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1953 and followed up to age 30 years. Information was extracted from obstetric files, health, social, work, and criminal records. Obstetric complications were defined as deviations from normal development occurring at any point from conception through the neonatal period. Inadequate parenting was indexed by social intervention. RESULTS Inadequate parenting was experienced by 19.1% of the men and 18.1% of the women, and was shown to increase the risk of offending (men, 1.39 times [95% confidence interval [CI], 1.28-1.50]; women, 2.09 [95% CI, 1.70-2.56]) and of violent offending (men, 2.02 times [95% CI, 1.67-2.44]; women, 2.09 [95% CI, 1.70-2.56]). Obstetric complications in the absence of family problems did not increase the risk of offending. A combination of pregnancy complications and inadequate parenting affected 3.1% of the men and 4.0% of the women, and increased the risk of offending (1.64 times [95% CI, 1.43-1.89]; 1.79 times [95% CI, 1.16-2.75], respectively) and violent offending (2.86 times [95% CI, 2.09-3.91]; 1.81 times [95% CI, 0.57-5.79]). CONCLUSIONS A combination of pregnancy complications and inadequate parenting increased the risk of violent and nonviolent offending only slightly more than inadequate parenting alone. However, inadequate parenting was experienced by 5 times more cohort members than was the combination of inadequate parenting and pregnancy complications.