Neuropsychological outcomes of traumatic brain injury and substance abuse in a New Zealand prison population

Abstract

Fifty subjects with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and/or substance use, completed neuropsychological measures of short and long term verbal and visual memory, information processing, motor speed and co-ordination, executive functioning, and malingering. All subjects performed below norms on tests of verbal memory and verbal abstract thinking, but overall no differences were found due to either severity of TBI or level of substance use. Maori subjects obtained the lowest scores on tests of verbal ability, but also reported higher rates of TBI and substance use, which is presumed to account for this result. In conclusion, prison populations seem to have disproportionately high rates of TBI, recurrent TBI, and substance use, compared to the general population. Further, there are a group of individuals who have experienced both TBI and substance abuse, with associated impairments in verbal memory and learning, abstract thinking, and who report problems with general memory and socialization. These difficulties may affect functioning both in prison and following release.

Traumatic brain injury among female offenders in a prison population: results of the FleuryTBI study

“…In another study, the prevalence of a history of TBI was 60.7% among a male population of 196 inmates (Williams et al., 2010). Several studies have highlighted the fact that prisoners with a history of one or more TBIs have significantly more health problems and significantly higher recourse to hospital care, use more alcohol or cannabis, and suffer significantly more psychiatric disorders (Barnfield & Leathem, 1998a, 1998b; Gunter, Philibert, & Hollenbeck, 2009; Schofield et al., 2006a, 2006b; Walker, Hiller, Staton, & Leukefeld, 2003; Walker, Staton, & Leukefeld, 2001). A previous study estimated the prevalence of self‐reported TBI in a representative population of male prisoners to be 32% in France (Durand et al., 2016).…”

Age and functioning after mild traumatic brain injury: the acute picture

“…Thirdly, the younger group self-reported more use of substances, although again this was not significantly different between groups. Substance abuse is associated with TBI in the younger population [30,31], and is generally thought to herald a Age and functioning after mild TBI 861 [32] found that blood alcohol level at hospital admission predicted poorer verbal memory and visuospatial functioning following TBI, other studies have not found a relationship between neuropsychological impairment and the presence [33] or degree of substance abuse [34] in patients with TBI. Nonetheless, the self-report of dysfunction and distress may be somewhat exaggerated in the younger group on the basis of substance-mediated problems, thus artificially raising the actual symptoms endorsed in the younger group.…”

Traumatic Brain Injury and Executive Functioning in an Incarcerated Sample

“…Most of the TBI corrections research has focused on its relationship to violent behavior as a result of community safety and policy concerns (Rosenbaum et al, 1994;Leon-Carrion & Ramos, 2003). However, far less research has examined other cognitive and emotional sequelae of TBI among incarcerated adults, and very little research has looked specifically at neuropsychological functioning (Barnfield & Leathem, 1998b;Slaughter et al, 2003) or at executive functioning and TBI (Marsh & Martinovich, 2006).…”

“…Very little research has looked specifically at neuropsychological functioning in justice-involved individuals with a history of TBI (Barnfield & Leathem, 1998b;Slaughter, Fann & Ehde, 2003) or at executive functioning and TBI (Marsh & Martinovich, 2006). The current study attempted to address this gap in the research by examining the neuropsychological functioning-and specifically the executive functioning-as it related to TBI in a sample of adults incarcerated in the Federal Prison System.…”

“…Hawley and Maden (2003) used a chart review as their sole source of information on past TBI and the absence of any reported TBI in the chart was considered the absence of a history of TBI. Very few studies looked for neuropsychological evidence of TBI-related deficits (e.g., Slaughter et al, 2003;Barnfield & Leathem, 1998b).…”