NCJ Number
127239
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 16 Issue: 1/2 Dated: (1990) Pages: 65-80
Date Published
1990
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study examined the connection between disordered sexuality and brain impairment by using newly developed techniques of neuropsychological investigation.
Abstract
Thirty-five inmates were randomly selected from residents of a facility for sex offenders. The sample was divided into a "violent" group (21) consisting of those convicted of sexual offenses involving bodily assault, and a "nonviolent" group (14) consisting of those convicted of nonassaultive sexual offenses. Subjects were individually administered the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery which consists of 269 measures of neuropsychological functioning. Twenty-two indices of neuropsychological functioning were derived from testing for each subject. Forty-nine percent of the subjects showed neuropsychological impairment. Approximately 65 percent of the brain-damaged offenders were incarcerated at the time for violent sex offenses, and 35 percent were imprisoned for nonviolent sex offenses. For those not having significant neuropsychological impairment, there were significant elevations on one or two scales for 10 of the 18 subjects. The study concludes the violent and nonviolent manifestations of disordered sexuality were statistically linked to differential deficits in brain functioning. 2 tables and 44 references