The experience of discrimination is common in individuals with mental health problems and has been associated with a range of negative outcomes. As yet, however, there has been an absence of research on this phenomenon in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The current study examined the association between ADHD symptoms and mental health discrimination in the general adult population.

The analytic sample comprised 7274 individuals aged 18 and above residing in private households in England that were drawn from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, 2007. Information on ADHD was obtained with the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) Screener. A single-item question was used to assess mental health discrimination experienced in the previous 12 months. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine associations.

The prevalence of discrimination increased as ADHD symptoms increased but was especially elevated in those with the most severe ADHD symptoms (ASRS score 18–24). In a multivariable logistic regression analysis that was adjusted for a variety of covariates including common mental disorders, ADHD symptoms (ASRS ≥ 14) were associated with almost 3 times higher odds for experiencing mental health discrimination (odds ratio: 2.81, 95% confidence interval: 1.49–5.31).

ADHD symptoms are associated with higher odds for experiencing mental health discrimination and this association is especially elevated in those with the most severe ADHD symptoms. Interventions to inform the general public about ADHD may be important for reducing the stigma and discrimination associated with this disorder in adults.

Outpatient civil commitment (OCC) provisions, community treatment orders (CTOs) in Australia and Commonwealth nations, are part of mental health law worldwide.

This study considers whether and by what means OCC provides statutorily required “needed-treatment” addressing two aspects of its legal mandate to protect the safety of self (exclusive of deliberate-self-harm) and others.

Over a 12.4-year period, records of hospitalized-psychiatric-patients, 11,424 with CTO-assignment and 16,161 without CTO-assignment were linked to police-records. Imminent-safety-threats included perpetrations and victimizations by homicides, rapes, assaults/abductions, and robberies. “Need for treatment” determinations were validated independently by Health of the Nations Scale (HoNOS) severity-score-profiles. Logistic regressions, with propensity-score- adjustment and control for 46 potential confounding-factors, were used to evaluate the association of CTO-assignment with occurrence-risk of perpetrations and victimizations.

CTO-assignment was associated with reduced safety-risk: 17% in initial-perpetrations, 11% in initial-victimizations, and 22% for repeat-perpetrations. Each ten-community-treatment-days in interaction with CTO-assignment was associated with a 3.4% reduced-perpetration-risk. CTO-initiated-re-hospitalization was associated with a 13% reduced-initial-perpetration-risk, a 17% reduced-initial-victimization-risk, and a 22% reduced-repeat-victimization-risk. All risk-estimates appear to be the unique contributions of the CTO, CTO-initiated-re-hospitalization, or the provision of ten-community-treatment-days—i.e. after accounting for the influence of prior crimes and victimizations, ethnic-bias, neighborhood disadvantage and other between-group differences in the analysis.

CTO assignment’s association with reduced criminal-victimization and perpetration-risk, in conjunction with requiring participation in needed-treatment via re-hospitalization and community-service, adds support to the conclusion that OCC is to some extent fulfilling its legal objectives related to protecting safety of self (exclusive of deliberate-self-harm), and others.