COMMUNITY VIOLENCE AND INPATIENT ASSAULTS - NEUROBIOLOGICAL DEFICITS

The goals of this study were to examine the relationship between commu nity violence and inpatient assaults and to identify neurological and neuropsychological deficits underlying violent behavior. Thirty-three inpatients with a history of community violence were compared with 69 patients who did not have such a history. Inpatient assaults were reco rded for 4 weeks; a neurological/neuropsychological battery was then a dministered. Patients without community violence were more likely to s how transient or no violence while in the hospital. Patients with comm unity violence performed more poorly on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Tes t and on psychomotor tasks, impairments that are consistent with front al lobe dysfunction. Inpatient assaults were not associated with these neuropsychological impairments. They were related, however, to impair ment on frontal motor programming tasks and a history of community vio lence.