RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Neurocognitive Function and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in Offenders with Mental Disorders
JF Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
JO J Am Acad Psychiatry Law
FD American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
SP 195
OP 208
DO 10.29158/JAAPL.003886-20
VO 48
IS 2
A1 Mansfield Mela
A1 Katherine Flannigan
A1 Tara Anderson
A1 Monty Nelson
A1 Sudheej Krishnan
A1 Chibuike Chizea
A1 Sarah Takahashi
A1 Rohan Sanjanwala
YR 2020
UL http://jaapl.org/content/48/2/195.abstract
AB Individuals with a history of offending behavior show high rates of mental disorder as well as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Neurocognitive impairments are common in both mental disorders and FASD and may interface with offending behavior. Understanding these impairments could effectively inform clinical considerations among this population. The purpose of this study was to characterize the life experiences and examine the neurocognitive profile of a group of adult forensic psychiatric outpatients. We also investigated potential differences between offenders with FASD and the rest of the sample. Data were collected on 45 subjects on numerous variables, including demographics, background information, offending histories, and comorbidities. Subjects also completed extensive neurocognitive testing. The sample was primarily male (82.2%) with a mean age of 42 years. There was a high prevalence of lifetime adversity and varied offense histories. Subjects showed the most significant neurocognitive impairment in executive function, visual memory (immediate and delayed recall), and full-scale IQ. The FASD group (n = 12) did not differ significantly from the No-FASD group (n = 33) on any background variables. The FASD group showed significantly lower neurocognitive scores in the areas of verbal IQ, full-scale IQ, working memory, processing speed, and expressive vocabulary.