Impaired executive function in 14- to 16-year-old boys with conduct disorder is related to recidivism: A prospective longitudinal study

Evaluation of the Executive Functioning and Psychological Adjustment of Child-to-Parent Offenders: Epidemiology and Quantification of Harm

With the aim of ascertaining if child-to-parent offenders have impairments in the executive functions and psychological maladjustment, and to quantify the potential harm and epidemiology, a field study was designed. As for this, 76 juvenile offenders sentenced for child-to-parent violence were assessed in executive functions (Stroop tasks) and psychological adjustment (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent, MMPI-A). The results showed valid responses for 75 juveniles and that data were not generally biased in line with defensiveness or malingering (differential diagnosis in justice juvenile evaluations). In psychological adjustment, the results revealed a significantly higher maladjustment among offenders on all the basic clinical scales with 23% more symptoms of hysteria than the normative population, 37% more of depressive symptoms, 44% more of hypochondriac symptoms, 68% more of psychopathic deviation symptoms, 46% more of paranoid symptoms, 26% more of psychasthenic symptoms, 24% more symptoms of schizophrenia, 17% more symptoms of hypomania, and 13% more symptoms of social introversion. Epidemiologically, the prevalence rates of clinical deterioration were significantly greater than expected (0.05 in normative sample) in hypochondria (28.0%), depression (29.3%), hysteria (29.3%), psychopathic deviation (60%), paranoia (30.7%), psychasthenia (22.7%), and schizophrenia (25.3%). As for the cognitive functions, the offenders exhibited impairments estimated at 62.0% in word reading, 47.9% in color naming, 45.8% in color-word, and 11.9% in interference and a significantly higher prevalence of caseness than expected in word reading (65%), color naming (71%), and color-word (70.2%). The implications of the results for intervention are discussed.

Executive functioning among first time and recidivist inmates in Uruguay

Previous research has found association between antisocial behavior and deficits in executive functioning. However, research into a link between them accounting for criminal history has found divergent results in western countries. The present study sought to determine the severity of executive functioning deficits in offenders compared to a normative sample, and the differences between first time offenders as compared to recidivists in Uruguay using a cross-sectional design. The neuropsychological performance of 334 male adult inmates was assessed using the BRIEF- A and a normative sample of 377. Results indicated that offenders performed significantly worse than non-offenders in the global score and the subscales of the BRIEF-A. Moreover, first time offenders exhibited less performance deficits in cognitive functioning than recidivist offenders. Compared to first time offenders, recidivist showed executive dysfunction concerning behavioral regulation index and globally. These results enhance our knowledge about executive dysfunction associated with criminality and may help to tailor the offenders' programs to offenders with executive deficits.

The Forensic Symptoms Inventory-Youth Version-Revised: Development and Age Invariance Testing of a Broad-Spectrum Questionnaire for Forensic Assessment

Covering both individual and neuropsychological factors, the Forensic Symptom Inventory-Youth Version-Revised (FSI-YV-R) is the first broad spectrum questionnaire for adolescents in forensic care, measuring several deficits, such as executive dysfunctions, anger, and inadequate coping to enhance treatment goals and evaluate interventions. In this study, both the factor structure and the measurement and structural invariance of the FSI-YV-R were investigated. The sample consisted of 159 forensic juvenile outpatients (79.9% males and 20.1% females) aged 12 to 19 with a mean age of 16.07 (SD = 1.57). Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analyses identified a second-order model (measuring executive functioning) and proved measurement and structural invariant across age groups (younger adolescents, 12-15 years and older adolescents, 16-18 years). Contrary to the expectations none of the FSI-YV-R subscales differentiated between younger adolescents (N = 74) and older adolescents (N = 85). These results and implications for both theory and practice are discussed.

Influence of maltreatment, bullying, and neurocognitive impairment on recidivism in adolescents with conduct disorder: A 3-Year prospective study

We sought to clarify the influence of family developmental conditions (e.g., adverse childhood experiences: ACEs), peer relationships (e.g., bullying), and neurocognitive impairment on recidivism in adolescents with conduct disorder (CD). We interviewed 290 adolescents with CD (265 males, 25 females) who had been admitted to a juvenile justice assessment center for the first time about their offense(s), onset of delinquency, ACEs, and peer relationships. The participants also completed tests of neurocognitive activities and self-report symptom measures: the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), the Memory Updating test for the assessment of attention, the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale (A-DES) for the assessment of dissociation, and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale 11th version (BIS-11) for the assessment of impulsivity. After the family court judgement and discharge, the participants were followed for 3 years. Readmissions to the center during the follow-up period were considered cases of "recidivism." During the follow-up, 102 (35.2%) participants were readmitted to the center. A survival analysis (Cox proportional hazard model) showed that lower age, bullying (as the perpetrator), and impaired cognitive function (e.g., a lower SDMT score) significantly increased recidivism, whereas bullying (as both victim and perpetrator) decreased recidivism. ACEs showed no clear effect on recidivism. Lower age and impaired cognitive function appear to predispose adolescent first-time offenders with CD to recidivism. However, the peer bullying analysis showed that being a perpetrator positively influenced recidivism, whereas being both a victim and a perpetrator negatively influenced recidivism. Further research considering the heterogeneity and comorbidity of CD could clarify bullying's influence on recidivism.

Cognitive Training for Very High Risk Incarcerated Adolescent Males

OBJECTIVE

Persistent violent and antisocial behavior, as manifested in conduct disorder (CD) traits, are associated with a range of cognitive deficits. Individuals with more severe cognitive deficits are more likely to commit violent crimes. Currently, no treatments target improving cognition in high-risk CD youth. This pilot study tests the feasibility and efficacy of delivering intensive tablet-based cognitive training (CT) to adolescent males incarcerated in a youth maximum-security prison.

METHODS

Participants were fourteen adolescent males, diagnosed with CD. All participants completed up to 30 h of unsupervised, intensive, adaptive CT exercises that targeted multiple neurocognitive domains, as well as a battery of standardized neurocognitive measures and computerized assessments at baseline and post-training.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

At baseline, participants exhibited significant impairments on neurocognitive measures, relative to age-matched healthy controls. Twelve participants completed training and showed evidence of target engagement, as indexed by improvement in cognitive processing speed. Significant gains were observed in measures of global cognition, with additional gains in cognitive flexibility at trend level significance. Improvements in these measures were positively related to total training time. In summary, both assessments and intervention appear to be feasible, tolerable, and acceptable in incarcerated youth. Intensive CT shows preliminary efficacy in improving neurocognitive performance in key domains, with large effect sizes, and significant performance improvement associations with the time in training.

Cognitive functioning and aggressive antisocial behaviors in young violent offenders

Studies have shown that offenders have impaired cognitive abilities yet it is unclear if cognitive dysfunction per se contributes to aggressive antisocial behaviors. Our aims were to (1) determine associations between cognitive functioning and different forms of aggressive antisocial behaviors, (2) describe prevalence of, and covariates to, uneven intellectual profiles, and (3) investigate associations between cognitive functioning and age at onset of aggressive antisocial behaviors. A cohort (n = 269) of 18-25 years old male violent offenders were assessed for general intellectual functioning with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales-third edition, and for executive functions with the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. Only one measure of cognitive functioning - slower reaction times in a response inhibition test - was significantly correlated with higher occurrence of aggressive, but not exclusively antisocial, behaviors. Furthermore, offenders with even intellectual profiles showed more aggressive antisocial behaviors than offenders with uneven intellectual profiles. Finally, increased errors in tests of cognitive flexibility and slower reaction times in a response inhibition test were associated with a younger age at onset of general, but not exclusively violent, criminality. Overall, effect sizes were small. The findings emphasize the need of research investigating how cognitive functioning in offenders affects susceptibility to treatment interventions.

Examining Associations Between Psychopathic Traits and Executive Functions in Incarcerated Violent Offenders

Executive functions (EFs) are essential in almost all aspects of daily life and have been robustly related to antisocial behavior. However, the relationship between psychopathy and EFs has remained equivocal. Research investigating lower-level trait dimensions of psychopathy using standardized EF measures could be beneficial in addressing this issue. In this study, we examined associations between four EFs and four dimensions of psychopathic traits (interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, antisocial) using zero-order correlation and a combination of classical and Bayesian statistical methods. Two hundred and fourteen incarcerated male violent offenders were assessed with the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised and completed tests of cognitive flexibility, spatial working memory, response inhibition, and planning and problem-solving using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. Lifestyle psychopathic traits were significantly associated with reduced initial thinking time in a planning and problem-solving task, with a Bayes factor indicating substantial evidence for the observed correlation, and antisocial psychopathic traits showed a significant association with reduced initial thinking time in the same task, although the Bayes factor indicated only anecdotal evidence. Significant associations were also found between affective and antisocial psychopathic traits and less efficient strategic thinking in a spatial working memory task, and between affective, lifestyle and antisocial psychopathic traits and fewer problems solved in a planning and problem-solving task, although these findings were not corroborated by the Bayesian analysis. While the observed effects ranged between small and medium, our study suggests that reduced initial thinking times in planning and problem-solving is robustly associated with higher degrees of lifestyle and antisocial psychopathic traits.