Differences in frontal lobe function between violent and nonviolent conduct disorder in male adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the present study was to investigate the differences in frontal lobe function between violent and nonviolent male adolescents with conduct disorder.


METHODS
A total of 309 male adolescents who had been admitted to the Nagoya Juvenile Classification Home participated. The participants were divided into two groups, a violent group composed of individuals who had committed violence against others, and a nonviolent group. The subjects were given the Wisconsin card sorting test (Keio version: KWCST) and the Iowa Gambling task. The presence of violent cases was analyzed in terms of age, family history (crime, drug abuse/dependence, alcohol-related disorder, and psychiatric treatment), experience of being abused by their parents or by the persons who were responsible for raising them, as well as categories achieved (CA) of KWCST (< or =4, >4) and total selection of disadvantage cards of Iowa Gambling task (> or =50, <50).


RESULTS
Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that a family history of drug abuse/dependence (odds ratio = 0.3, 95% confidence interval = 0.1-0.9) and a CA of the KWCST (odds ratio = 1.8, 95% confidence interval = 1.0-3.1) were significantly associated with violence.


CONCLUSIONS
An impaired rate of CA of the KWCST was related to violence, whereas a family history of drug abuse/dependence was related to nonviolence in male adolescents with conduct disorder.
Miura
Hideki
H
Nagoya Juvenile Classification Home, Aichi, Japan. hmiura@med.nagoya-u.ac.jp