Impaired Executive Function in 14- to 16-Year-Old Boys with Conduct Disorder Is Related to Recidivism
BACKGROUND:
Several
studies have suggested a relationship between cognitive impairment and
recidivism, but most have adopted a retrospective design.
AIM:
The aim of
this study was to test for any relationship between impaired executive function
in adolescents with conduct disorder and subsequent recidivism up to 3 years
later.
METHOD:
In this
prospective cohort study, 221 male adolescents with conduct disorder, admitted
to a juvenile justice assessment centre for the first time, were interviewed
about their offence, age, onset of delinquency and family history. They
completed the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (Keio version) (KWCST) and the Iowa
gambling task. Scores were compared between those who subsequently re-offended
and those who did not.
RESULTS:
Seventy-six
(34%) participants re-offended. There was no direct difference between groups
in executive function, but there were age differences both in executive
function and in recidivism. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated
that the variables, which were independently associated with recidivism, were
younger age, change in the person who brought up the child, and fewer (≤4)
categories achieved on the KWCST. Recidivists were about twice as likely as
single offenders to have achieved four categories or less on the KWCST (odds
ratio 2.2, 95% confidence interval 1.1-4.4).
CONCLUSIONS:
Impaired
executive function appears to predispose to recidivism among young first-time
male offenders with conduct disorder. Our findings also suggest that further
precise assessments of environmental stress on developing neurocognitive
function could clarify the background of antisocial behaviour.
- 1Nagoya Juvenile Classification Home, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
- 2Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
- Crim Behav Ment Health. 2016 Feb 10. doi: 10.1002/cbm.1993.
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