{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,28]],"date-time":"2026-04-28T16:29:52Z","timestamp":1777393792970,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,25]],"date-time":"2025-09-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1758758400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Research exploring the context in which ASD and offending are associated is limited, despite stereotyped perceptions that individuals with ASD are more violent than their typically developing peers. To address this gap, this research explored the influence of ASD, mental health and behavioural presentation, adverse childhood experiences, and demographic characteristics on offending presentations in a forensic youth sample. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of a retrospective cohort, utilising secondary data of 327 young people from a forensic London-based service (83% male, Mage = 14.9 years old, SD = 1.90). Results: One hundred forty-two of these young people presented with either confirmed or suspected ASD diagnoses (83.8% male, Mage = 14.8 years old, SD = 1.84). Five offending categories (violence, sexually harmful behaviour, drug possession\/supply, gang involvement, theft) and 32 offending behaviours were analysed in total. Poisson and negative binomial regression analyses indicated that ASD traits only increased the rate ratio of violent offences (p = 0.036) and gang involvement (p = 0.002). The use of substances significantly increased the rate ratio of theft (p = 0.012), gang involvement (p = 0.004), and drug possession\/supply (p = 0.012). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that ASD, in the context of substance use, may increase a young person\u2019s risk for more variable violent offences or gang involvement. Findings are discussed in the context of current research and recommendations for clinical practice and future research are made.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children12101300","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,25]],"date-time":"2025-09-25T12:05:13Z","timestamp":1758801913000},"page":"1300","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Autism Spectrum Disorder Traits and Other Offending Risk Factors in a London-Based Forensic Youth Population"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-9436-6360","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria","family":"Loizidou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (FCAMHS) at the Portman Clinic (North, Central and East London), The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, London NW3 5NA, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alexandra","family":"Busse","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (FCAMHS) at the Portman Clinic (North, Central and East London), The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, London NW3 5NA, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8863-5080","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rebecca","family":"Lane","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Therapies, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK"},{"name":"Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB21 5EF, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sophie","family":"Marshall","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (FCAMHS) at the Portman Clinic (North, Central and East London), The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, London NW3 5NA, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S45","DOI":"10.1192\/bjo.2022.179","article-title":"The Prevalence of Autism in the Criminal Justice System: A Systematic Review","volume":"8","author":"Chester","year":"2022","journal-title":"BJPsych Open"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"460","DOI":"10.1177\/1362361316685554","article-title":"Personal experiences of the Criminal Justice System by individuals with autism spectrum disorders","volume":"22","author":"Helverschou","year":"2018","journal-title":"Autism"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14","DOI":"10.1097\/HRP.0000000000000087","article-title":"Template to Perpetrate: An Update on Violence in Autism Spectrum Disorder","volume":"24","author":"Im","year":"2016","journal-title":"Harv. Rev. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1856","DOI":"10.1007\/s10803-011-1427-2","article-title":"The prevalence of youth with autism spectrum disorders in the criminal justice system","volume":"42","author":"Cheely","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Autism Dev. Disord."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"183","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpsychires.2021.09.010","article-title":"Risk factors of violent offending in mentally ill prisoners with autism spectrum disorders","volume":"143","author":"Meijers","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Psychiatr. Res."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3817","DOI":"10.1017\/S0033291722000460","article-title":"Association of intellectual disability with violent and sexual crime and victimization: A population-based cohort study","volume":"53","author":"Latvala","year":"2023","journal-title":"Psychol. Med."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"576","DOI":"10.1111\/jcpp.12993","article-title":"Child maltreatment in autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability: Results from a population-based sample","volume":"60","author":"McDonnell","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"308","DOI":"10.1108\/20441281211285955","article-title":"Autism spectrum disorders and offending","volume":"6","author":"Gunasekaran","year":"2012","journal-title":"Adv. Ment. Health Intellect. Disabil."},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"177","article-title":"Emerging perspectives on adolescents and young adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders, violence, and criminal law","volume":"40","author":"Lerner","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Am. Acad. Psychiatry Law"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"491","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jaac.2017.03.011","article-title":"Autism and Convictions for Violent Crimes: Population-Based Cohort Study in Sweden","volume":"56","author":"Heeramun","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2057","DOI":"10.1007\/s10803-020-04622-0","article-title":"Are Mental Health, Family and Childhood Adversity, Substance Use and Conduct Problems Risk Factors for Offending in Autism?","volume":"51","author":"Payne","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Autism Dev. Disord."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"245","DOI":"10.1016\/S0749-3797(98)00017-8","article-title":"Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study","volume":"14","author":"Felitti","year":"1998","journal-title":"Am. J. Prev. Med."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104890","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chiabu.2020.104890","article-title":"Adverse childhood experiences and trajectories of internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial behaviors from childhood to adolescence","volume":"112","author":"Bevilacqua","year":"2021","journal-title":"Child Abus. Negl."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"751","DOI":"10.1093\/bjc\/azab079","article-title":"ACEs, Places and Inequality: Understanding the Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Poverty on Offending in Childhood","volume":"62","author":"Jahanshahi","year":"2022","journal-title":"Br. J. Criminol."},{"key":"ref_15","unstructured":"(2025, August 13). Census 2021 Reports, Available online: https:\/\/apps.london.gov.uk\/census-2021-reports\/#\/country-of-birth."},{"key":"ref_16","unstructured":"(2025, August 13). Household and Resident Characteristics, England and Wales\u2014Office for National Statistics, Available online: https:\/\/www.ons.gov.uk\/peoplepopulationandcommunity\/householdcharacteristics\/homeinternetandsocialmediausage\/bulletins\/householdandresidentcharacteristicsenglandandwales\/census2021#household-deprivation."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"405","DOI":"10.1007\/s00787-021-01870-y","article-title":"Characteristics of young people accessing recently implemented Community Forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (F:CAMHS) in England: Insights from national service activity data","volume":"32","author":"Lane","year":"2023","journal-title":"Eur. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_18","unstructured":"(2023, May 20). \u2018Ethnicity\u2019. NHS Digital. Available online: https:\/\/digital.nhs.uk\/data-and-information\/data-collections-and-data-sets\/data-sets\/mental-health-services-data-set\/submit-data\/data-quality-of-protected-characteristics-and-other-vulnerable-groups\/ethnicity."},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"(2025, August 13). Autism Assessment Waiting Times. Available online: https:\/\/www.autism.org.uk\/what-we-do\/news\/autism-assessment-waiting-times-2."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"70","DOI":"10.53841\/bpsfu.2024.1.145.70","article-title":"Adverse childhood experiences in a London-based forensic CAMHS population","volume":"1","author":"Marshall","year":"2024","journal-title":"Forensic Update"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"439","DOI":"10.2980\/1195-6860(2006)13[439:CTFDRA]2.0.CO;2","article-title":"Controlling the false discovery rate and increasing statistical power in ecological studies","volume":"13","author":"Waite","year":"2006","journal-title":"Ecoscience"},{"key":"ref_22","unstructured":"CDC (2025, August 13). \u2018Data and Statistics on Autism Spectrum Disorder\u2019, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Available online: https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/autism\/data-research\/index.html."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"135","DOI":"10.1108\/AIA-02-2024-0015","article-title":"Distinguishing between autism and the consequences of early traumatisation during diagnostic assessment: A clinical case study","volume":"10","author":"Kildahl","year":"2024","journal-title":"Adv. Autism"},{"key":"ref_24","first-page":"1000489","article-title":"Differential diagnosis of autism: A causal analysis","volume":"11","author":"Rowland","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Neurol. Neurophysiol."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102083","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijlp.2025.102083","article-title":"Cognitive biases in forensic psychiatry: A scoping review","volume":"101","author":"Buongiorno","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int. J. Law Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"156","DOI":"10.1037\/tra0000193","article-title":"Complex trauma in childhood, a psychiatric diagnosis in adulthood: Making meaning of a double-edged phenomenon","volume":"9","author":"McCormack","year":"2017","journal-title":"Psychol. Trauma Theory Res. Pract. Policy"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mulvey, E.P., Schubert, C.A., and Chassin, L. (2010). Substance Use and Delinquent Behavior Among Serious Adolescent Offenders. Juvenile Justice Bulletin, US Department of Justice.","DOI":"10.1037\/e506942011-001"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"414","DOI":"10.1002\/ab.10048","article-title":"Substance use patterns of young offenders and violent crime","volume":"29","author":"Lennings","year":"2003","journal-title":"Aggress. Behav."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105072","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chiabu.2021.105072","article-title":"Relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences and substance use in youth offenders in Singapore","volume":"117","author":"Oei","year":"2021","journal-title":"Child Abus. Negl."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"163","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chiabu.2015.01.011","article-title":"Trauma changes everything: Examining the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and serious, violent and chronic juvenile offenders","volume":"46","author":"Fox","year":"2015","journal-title":"Child Abus. Negl."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"24","DOI":"10.1177\/1541204019854799","article-title":"(Buddy) Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Gang Involvement Among Juvenile Offenders: Assessing the Mediation Effects of Substance Use and Temperament Deficits","volume":"18","author":"Wolff","year":"2020","journal-title":"Youth Violence Juv. Justice"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"229","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcrimjus.2015.04.012","article-title":"The Relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) and Juvenile Offending Trajectories in a Juvenile Offender Sample","volume":"43","author":"Baglivio","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Crim. Justice"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shapiro, H. (2018). Socio-Ecological Risk and Protective Factors for Youth Gang Involvement. The Wiley Handbook on Violence in Education, Wiley. [1st ed.].","DOI":"10.1002\/9781118966709"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Byrne, B., Alexander, C., Khan, O., Nazroo, J., and Shankley, W. (2020). Ethnicity, Race and Inequality in the UK: State of the Nation, Policy Press.","DOI":"10.56687\/9781447351269"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"44","DOI":"10.1192\/apt.bp.109.006775","article-title":"Understanding offenders with autism-spectrum disorders: What can forensic services do? Commentary on\u2026 Asperger Syndrome and Criminal Behaviour","volume":"16","author":"Murphy","year":"2010","journal-title":"Adv. Psychiatr. Treat."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"212","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-7610.2004.00215.x","article-title":"Adult outcome for children with autism","volume":"45","author":"Howlin","year":"2004","journal-title":"Child Psychol. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_37","first-page":"4175","article-title":"Revis\u00e3o sistem\u00e1tica sobre o efeito do programa escolar de preven\u00e7\u00e3o ao uso de drogas Keepin\u2019 it REAL: Traduzido e implementado no Brasil pelo PROERD","volume":"27","author":"Valente","year":"2022","journal-title":"Ci\u00eanc. Sa\u00fade Coletiva"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"83","DOI":"10.2190\/365C-6F4J-7CX7-7JYH","article-title":"Youth, drugs and resilience education","volume":"31","author":"Brown","year":"2001","journal-title":"J. Drug Educ."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1007\/s11121-021-01277-w","article-title":"Short-Term Secondary Effects of a School-Based Drug Prevention Program: Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial of the Brazilian Version of DARE\u2019s Keepin\u2019 it REAL","volume":"23","author":"Valente","year":"2022","journal-title":"Prev. Sci."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104415","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chiabu.2020.104415","article-title":"Vulnerable children: Protection and social reintegration of child soldiers and youth members of gangs","volume":"110","author":"Garbarino","year":"2020","journal-title":"Child Abus. Negl."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Salter, J., and Blainey, S. (2024). The effectiveness of interventions for offending behaviours in adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD): A systematic PRISMA review. BMC Psychol., 12.","DOI":"10.1186\/s40359-024-01770-1"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e1158","DOI":"10.1002\/cl2.1158","article-title":"Multisystemic Therapy\u00ae for social, emotional, and behavioural problems in youth age 10 to 17: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"17","author":"Littell","year":"2021","journal-title":"Campbell Syst. Rev."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bj\u00f8rknes, R., Hukkelberg, S., Taraldsen, K., and H\u00f8stm\u00e6lingen, A.T. (2024). Does Multisystemic Therapy Change Criminogenic Risk Factors? A 10-Year Study Among Norwegian Youths With and Without Offenses. Crime Delinq., 00111287241287134.","DOI":"10.1177\/00111287241287134"},{"key":"ref_44","first-page":"18","article-title":"What do justice-involved youth want from integrated youth services? A conjoint analysis","volume":"33","author":"Klymkiw","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Can. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry"}],"container-title":["Children"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2227-9067\/12\/10\/1300\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T18:49:35Z","timestamp":1760035775000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2227-9067\/12\/10\/1300"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,25]]},"references-count":44,"journal-issue":{"issue":"10","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10]]}},"alternative-id":["children12101300"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/children12101300","relation":{},"ISSN":["2227-9067"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2227-9067","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,25]]}}}