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Review
. 2018 Oct;5(10):836-844.
doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30062-2. Epub 2018 Feb 26.

Traumatic brain injury: a potential cause of violent crime?

W Huw Williams  1 , Prathiba Chitsabesan  2 , Seena Fazel  3 , Tom McMillan  4 , Nathan Hughes  5 , Michael Parsonage  6 , James Tonks  7
Affiliations
Review

Traumatic brain injury: a potential cause of violent crime?

W Huw Williams et al. Lancet Psychiatry. 2018 Oct.

Erratum in

  • Corrections.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] Lancet Psychiatry. 2018 Oct;5(10):e24. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30271-2. Epub 2018 Jul 18. Lancet Psychiatry. 2018. PMID: 30029994 No abstract available.

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the biggest cause of death and disability in children and young people. TBI compromises important neurological functions for self-regulation and social behaviour and increases risk of behavioural disorder and psychiatric morbidity. Crime in young people is a major social issue. So-called early starters often continue for a lifetime. A substantial majority of young offenders are reconvicted soon after release. Multiple factors play a role in crime. We show how TBI is a risk factor for earlier, more violent, offending. TBI is linked to poor engagement in treatment, in-custody infractions, and reconviction. Schemes to assess and manage TBI are under development. These might improve engagement of offenders in forensic psychotherapeutic rehabilitation and reduce crime.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests

TM holds grants from the Scottish Government; WHW from the Barrow Cadbury Trust. WHW is also a Vice Chair of the Criminal Justice and Acquired Brain Injury Group. SF is funded by the Wellcome Trust (202836/Z/16/Z). NH is funded by Barrow Cadbury Trust. All authors declare no competing interests. Since the original online publication, additional information has been provided regarding a perceived conflict of interest for MP in relation to personal circumstances. Following receipt of the complaint, the editors, authors, and MP’s employers have reviewed the circumstances and, while they do not believe that the information provided has any implications for the integrity of the background work or the published paper, they fully acknowledge and deeply regret the distress caused to the complainant. This statement has been included in the online and print versions of this paper.

References

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