The Relationship between Learning Disability, Neurological Impairment, and Delinquency

Abstract

In a follow-up study of 203 adolescents and young adults who between the age of 8 and 12 had been referred to a neuropsychology clinic because of learning problems and of 52 control subjects, encounters with the police, offenses, and penalties were explored through a structured interview with the former clients and with their parents. Subgrouping of learning-disabled (LD) subjects into brain damage, suggested brain damage, and no evidence of brain damage in a neurological examination showed that no association between brain damage and delinquency can be demonstrated. The presence of learning disability (LD) generally did not confirm an increased likelihood of encounters with the police or a greater number of offenses although the LD group without neurological handicap did receive a slightly higher number of somewhat more severe penalties than then neurologically handicapped groups or the control group. The results of the study are at variance with the results of retrospective studies demonstrating a close association between LD and delinquency and with the association between LD and neurological disorder frequently assumed on the basis of psychological test indicators of neurological dysfunction. These discrepancies with previous studies are discussed in relation to the prospective/retrospective research design and to test vs. clinical indicators of neurological impairment.

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