The Relationship between Traumatic Brain Injury and Violent Criminal Recidivism

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

The relationship between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and criminal offending has been the focus of increasing scholarly attention in recent years. Most prior studies have found that those with TBI are more likely to engage in criminal behavior than those without. Much of this prior research, however, relies on cross-sectional designs and does not examine the role of TBIs in criminal recidivism. The current study attempts to fill in this gap by investigating the link between TBI and violent criminal recidivism, as measured by arrest. Employing exponential survival models, findings indicate that, net of several control variables, those reporting TBI recidivate sooner than those not reporting TBI. In fact, along with PTSD, TBI is the strongest predictor in the models. However, time to recidivism varies depending on the number of TBIs individuals report. Those reporting one TBI recidivate sooner than those reporting two and three or more. These findings suggest that the relationship between TBI and violent recidivism is complex. More empirical research is needed to provide a clearer understanding of this relationship.

Authors

• Nicholas J. Richardson, North Carolina State University

• Pamela K. Lattimore, RTI International