Neurocognitive Function and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in Offenders with Mental Disorders

Mansfield Mela, Katherine Flannigan, Tara Anderson, Monty Nelson, 
Sudheej Krishnan, Chibuike Chizea, Sarah Takahashi, Rohan Sanjanwala

Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online, 
Feb 2020, JAAPL.003886-20; DOI: 10.29158/JAAPL.003886-20

"Individuals with a history of offending behaviour show high rates of mental disorder as well as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Neurocognitive impairments are common in both mental disorders and FASD and may interface with offending behaviour. Understanding these impairments could effectively inform clinical considerations among this population.

The purpose of this study was to characterise the life experiences and examine the neurocognitive profile of a group of adult forensic psychiatric outpatients. We also investigated potential differences between offenders with FASD and the rest of the sample... The rates of mental disorders within offending populations are high, and current evidence shows that they are increasing..."

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