As children with
FAS reach adolescence, they are at increased risk for involvement with the justice system.
Their poor judgment, impulsiveness, inability to anticipate consequences, and seeming inability
to alter their behavior as a result of those consequences appears to make them particularly
susceptible to trouble with the law. Streissguth (below) et al.’s (1996) follow-up study of
adolescents and adults with FAS /FAE found that approximately 60% had
experienced some involvement
with the law. Forty percent did not!
Anne Streissguth - Professor - Fetal Drug and Alcohol Unit,
part of the Department
of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Teens with FAS/FAE
have been charged with offences ranging from vandalism or mischief to more serious offences of theft and assault. They may be easily led and manipulated by more street-wise teens.
However, in a recent study in B.C., youth with FAS were no more likely to commit the offence
with a group than on their own.
Teens with FAS/FAE
are also victims. Their inability to anticipate dangerous situations may put them in the
wrong place at the wrong time. They may be too trusting of people, including strangers, whom
they consider to be “friends”. Inappropriate social skills may make them the scapegoats in the
teen peer group.
For both
perpetrators and victims, alcohol and drug use is often the driving influence. It is important to
remember that having FAS in and of itself does not cause criminal behaviour. Many other factors
combine to result in this outcome. The advice to parents to closely monitor their teen’s
activities is the key factor in preventing involvement with the justice system.
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