NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF VIOLENCE IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

Thirty-one outpatient men with schizophrenia were assessed with variou s measures of lifelong history of physical violence as well as psychop athology, neuropsychological performance, and neurological intactness. Most of the results consisted of nonsignificant positive relationship s between physical aggression and neuropsychological performance in th ese schizophrenia subjects. Some neuropsychological test performances did show significant positive correlations with levels of aggressivity . In contrast with previous studies that have established a relation b etween neuropsychological impairment (as opposed to performance) and v iolence in schizophrenia, subjects of the present study were high-func tioning outpatients who may not have attained a level of neurological impairment inducing constant uncontrollable outbursts of irritative ag gression in their daily living. The importance of defining in detail t he clinical characteristics of the subjects studied and the type of vi olence assessed is discussed, and an ecological interpretation of thes e counterintuitive results is provided.