Cognitive differences between violent and non-violent adolescent male offenders as a variable of violence risk.

摘要

Past research has demonstrated a link between cognition and juvenile offending. Compared to non-offenders, juvenile offenders have a greater split between verbal and non-verbal cognitive abilities, with verbal scores often being lower. This study examined violent and non-violent juvenile offenders' scores on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale --- Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children --- Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). This study's hypothesis was that violent juvenile offenders would have a greater split between their Verbal Comprehension Indices (VCI) and their Perceptual Reasoning Indices (PRI), with lower VCI than non-violent juvenile offenders. This study analyzed archival records of 135 juvenile offenders in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The violent juvenile offenders in this study had significantly lower Full Scale Intelligence Quotients (FSIQ) and VCI scores than non-violent offenders. However, this was not reflected in the actual difference score of a VCI-PRI split. The results of the study may influence the way in which professionals intervene with violent juveniles. Additionally, a lower VCI score may help identify juveniles at risk for violent offending. Recommendations for further research to pursue this hypothesis are presented.