Publication . Seruca, Tânia Catarina Mira; Silva, Carlos Fernandes da
This study sought to analyse the relation between executive functions and
criminal recidivism. We assessed a set of cognitive abilities associated with
executive functioning in a group of recidivist offenders (n = 19), primary
offenders (n = 25) and non-offenders (n = 30). Our results, tested with nonparametric
statistics and Monte Carlo method, revealed that there were no
executive differences between both groups of offenders but, when compared
with non-offenders, the recidivists showed a worse performance in
Trail Making Test part B, and the primary offenders presented a significant
lower score on Porteus Maze Test Age score. This study suggests that
there can be a different pattern of executive functioning deficits associated
with the offenders’ criminal record: recidivism may be more related to
mental flexibility impairments and primary offenders’ antisocial behaviour
may be aggravated by planning deficits.
