Neurocognitive Pathways to Violence: Psychosocial Deprivation, Media, Cognition, and Intervention

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract/Description

This symposium integrates forensic, developmental, and intervention-focused research to map neurocognitive pathways leading to antisocial behavior. The first study examined executive functioning and childhood psychosocial deprivation in homicide offenders, comparing single-event/single-victim, single-event/multiple-victim, and multiple-event/multiple-victim perpetrators to distinguish EF and decision-making profiles linked to premeditated versus impulsive killings. The second and third independent empirical studies probe modern media’s role. The second one investigated violent short-video exposure among college students, showing direct increases in reactive and proactive aggression with dark-triad traits and emotion dysregulation as parallel mediators; while the third study found that violent video game engagement related to aggression partly through impulsivity and executive-function deficits. Complementing these observational studies, the forth study presented a meta-analysis of 25 RCTs (N=2,889) demonstrating significant reductions in antisocial/externalizing behaviors with omega‑3 supplementation, supporting low-cost adjunctive prevention strategies. Together, these four studies highlight evidence that cognitive control, developmental deprivation, personality risk, and contemporary media exposures interact to shape violent trajectories—and that scalable biological and skills-based interventions (e.g., omega‑3, emotion-regulation training, digital literacy) might be promising avenues for prevention and treatment.

Organized by

It's organised by the Division of Biopsychosocial Criminology.

Sub Unit

• Area III. Types of Offending / 10. Violence and Violent Crime

Individual Presentations

• Executive Functioning, Childhood Psychosocial Deprivation, and Premeditated/Impulsive Homicide: a Forensic Sample - Isabella Monterosso, California State University, Long Beach; Shichun Ling, California State University, Los Angeles; Robert Schug, California State University, Long Beach

• The effect of exposure to violent-related short-videos on aggression: psychosocial factors as mediators - Jiawei Wang, Hong Kong Shue Yan University; Bess Yin-Hung Lam, Hong Kong Shue Yan University

• Violent Video Games and Aggression: The potential role of cognitive functioning - Cheuk Ying Lee, Hong Kong Shue Yan University; Bess Yin-Hung Lam, Hong Kong Shue Yan University

• Omega-3 Supplementation to Reduce Antisocial Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials - Adrian Raine, University of Pennsylvania; Helena Q. Saven, University of Pennsylvania