Comparison of the Neuropsychological Profiles of Adult Male Sex Offenders and Non-offenders with a Learning Disability

• NCJ Number: 193628
• Journal: Journal of Sexual Aggression Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: 2001 Pages: 57-64
• Author(s): George C. Murray; Karen McKenzie; April Quigley; Edith Matheson; Amanda M. Michie; William R. Lindsay
• Date Published: 2001
• Length: 8 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This study compared the neuropsychological profiles of 42 adult male sex offenders with a learning disability with 42 nonoffenders with a learning disability to determine whether the sex offenders had specific cognitive defects.

Abstract

The study used the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Revised (1986) and matched the participants for full-scale IQ. Results revealed that the non-offender group had significantly higher verbal IQ scores than did the sex offender group. No significant differences existed for performance IQ. The non-offender group also had significantly higher scores on the vocabulary sub-test than did the sex offender group. The sex offender group had significantly higher scores on the object assembly sub-test than did the non-offender group. Moreover, the sex offender group had significantly lower verbal IQ than performance IQ, whereas the non-offender group did not differ significantly in verbal and performance IQ. Findings suggested the need for treatment to account for individuals’ verbal deficits, particularly in vocabulary, in a more explicit way than at present. Tables and 24 references