Relationship between executive function deficits and violent behaviors in male adolescents / 上海第二医科大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the roles of executive function deficits in adolescent violent behaviors. MethodsAccording to the findings of general state questionnaire,modified overt aggression scale and interview,93 male juvenile delinquents were randomly divided into violent antisocial group(n=47) and nonviolent antisocial group(n=46).Besides,50 male adolescents in vocational schools were served as normal controls.All the participants were subjected to Wechsler adult intelligence scale(WAIS) test,Wisconsin card sorting test(WCST),Stroop color-word test(CWT) and Tower of Hanoi(TOH) test. Results There was no significant difference in IQ between violent antisocial group and nonviolent antisocial group(P0.05).In CWT,violent antisocial group and nonviolent antisocial group had significant difference with normal control group in number of correct responses of Stroop interference effects(SIE)(P0.05).In TOH,the total time spent in violent antisocial group and nonviolent antisocial group was significantly longer than normal control group(P0.05). Conclusion There exists executive function deficits in male adolescents with unlawful acts,and violent behaviors may have a closer relationship with executive function deficits.