Suffering a minor head injury as a child could make you more likely to become a criminal, a study suggests.
In a study of more than 300,000 people, researchers in Denmark compared the rates of mild traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in minors under the age of 10 with teenagers with criminal records.
The team found that children with a concussion were more than 25 percent more likely to commit or be convicted of a crime by age 20.
The researchers believe this may be due to concussions resulting in behavioral problems, antisocial behavior and aggression, which could increase the risk of committing a criminal offence.
If you suffer a minor head injury as a child, you are more likely to become a criminal
The findings come as nearly four million Americans are expected to suffer a concussion each year, which causes the brain to bounce violently back and forth in the skull.
Usually caused by contact sports such as football, the head injury is also linked to an increased risk of brain disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and dementia.
In the study, published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers evaluated 343,027 Danish adults born between 1995 and 2000.
The team then looked at emergency room visits for children between birth and age 10 from the Danish National Patient Register and compared this with criminal justice data for teenagers and young adults aged 15 to 20.
They noted that the age of 20 is the most likely age at which Danish citizens will commit a crime.
The crimes evaluated included vandalism, violence and assault.
Of the participants, approximately 13,000 had been diagnosed with a mild form of traumatic brain injury before the age of 10, 20,000 had committed a crime and approximately 13,000 had been convicted.
The team found that participants who suffered a mild concussion during childhood were 26 percent more likely to commit a crime between the ages of 15 and 20, and they were 24 percent more likely to be convicted of a crime than those who had no concussion. .
The researchers wrote: ‘Our analysis confirmed that experiencing mTBI during childhood is positively associated with criminal charges and convictions in mid-to-late adolescence.’
While the researchers are largely unsure what exactly is behind the increase, they noted that it could be due to mood changes resulting from sustaining a traumatic brain injury.
Although most concussions can lead to temporary feelings of irritability and anxiety, repeated injuries have been shown to cause lasting changes such as anger, depression and impulsivity, which can lead to poor decision-making and criminal behavior.
It may also be that children who later become criminals also take more risks in their youth.
Mild TBIs are usually caused by contact sports such as football and soccer. The CDC recommends wearing protective headgear to protect against concussions.
This is not the first study to find a link between TBI and criminal behavior. A Study from 2018For example, traumatic brain injury was found to be associated “with prior incarceration, increased risk of violence, and increased convictions” due to impulsivity and a lack of empathy.
Moreover, a 2023 study the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry found that mild brain injuries led to “significantly higher rates of violent charges and violent convictions,” especially in men.