Nicolas Combalbert

Judgment of blame in teenagers with Asperger's syndrome

ABSTRACT The judgment of blame was studied in a group of 28 teenagers, 14 with Asperger syndrome (AS) and 14 typically developed. Teenagers in each group were matched by age, cognitive development and academic level. They were presented with 12 short vignettes in which they had to judge an action according to the intent of the actor (deliberate and accidental), the consequences of the action (presence and absence) and the seriousness of the situation (low, medium and high). Results showed a significant difference in the patterns of judgment of both groups. The AS group judged the action according to the physical consequence of the action more than the intent of the actor; the opposite was observed with the control group. In addition, the AS teenagers were less capable than the control group of grading injury to a person when apportioning blame especially when they were not familiar with the social situations. This result suggests that the judgement of the seriousness of the outcome of the social interaction is linked with its level of familiarity. Furthermore, result are congruent with the assumption that two different cognitive structures, deontic reasoning and perspective taking, are involved in the judgment of blame.

Trouble mental et criminalité : revue critique des recherches épidémiologiques

Resume Cet article propose une revue critique des etudes epidemiologiques recentes qui tentent de definir le lien entre les troubles mentaux et le risque de criminalite. Ainsi, nous nous interessons aux recherches effectuees sur la prevalence des comportements violents chez les sujets souffrant de troubles mentaux, sur la prevalence des troubles mentaux chez les detenus et, enfin, nous examinons les recherches realisees aupres de la population generale et notamment les etudes de cohortes de population de meme âge. Nous mettons en evidence les biais methodologiques inherents a ces etudes.

Cognitive impairment, self‐perceived health and quality of life of older prisoners

BACKGROUND There is a wealth of studies of somatic and mental illness among prisoners, but little on older prisoners and their cognitive aging. AIMS Our study examines the cognitive performance of older male prisoners and its effect on their perceived health and quality of life. METHODS A total of 138 men aged 50 or over were recruited in seven French prisons and 138 men of similar ages from the general population. Two assessments of executive cognitive functions - the mini-mental state examination and the frontal assessment battery - were administered to each participant, together with self rating schedules of health (Nottingham Health Profile), subjective state of mental health and quality of life (the brief World Health Organisation Quality of Life Questionnaire). RESULTS There were very significant differences between the two groups in terms of cognitive performance, perceived health and quality of life. There was, however, no significant association between cognitive impairment and perceived health or quality of life. CONCLUSIONS We found evidence that about a fifth of male prisoners in France had executive function test scores suggestive of at least moderately severe dementia and many others some evidence of cognitive impairments. Prisoners suffering from cognitive impairment do not necessarily seek help, perhaps not even considering that their health or quality of life to be affected. Communication deficits may also prevent their participation in prison activities which could prevent, slow or halt cognitive decline. Consequently, it is important that systematic screening for cognitive disorders is offered to men over 50 in prison. Copyright

Mental disorders and cognitive impairment in ageing offenders

Abstract The aim of our study was to identify psychiatric and cognitive disorders among older prison inmates and to investigate whether there is an association between mental disorders and cognitive impairment. 138 men aged 50 and over were recruited in seven French prisons (Group 1) and 138 men aged 50 and over were recruited from the general public (Group 2). Participants were assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, the Mini Mental State Examination, and the Frontal Assessment Battery. The results reveal very significant differences in the incidence of mental disorders and in cognitive performance between the two groups. However, there does not appear to be a significant link between mental disorders and cognitive performance. We discuss the risk factors for mental disorders and cognitive impairment. We raise particularly the issue of depression, which is the most common pathology in this population and which is generally associated with the risk of suicide.

Influence of acculturation strategies on the judgement and punishment of an offender of North African descent

ABSTRACT Very few studies have examined the influence of the acculturation strategies of an offender of foreign descent on the way a third party judges the personality and action of that offender. The aim of our study was thus to measure the effect of three variables (Seriousness of the harm suffered by the victim; Type of acculturation strategy of the offender; Level of Social Dominance Orientation [SDO]) of the person making the judgement) on the judgements and decisions made by a sample of students faced with a situation of physical aggression committed by a man of North African descent living in France. After reading a scenario describing a criminal act committed by a man of North African descent, who had or had not adopted French culture, 168 French students completed a judgement scale concerning the criminal act and the offender and an SDO scale. The results show that the crime was perceived as less serious when the perpetrator had adopted French culture than when he had not. The perpetrator was also judged less severely. Participants with higher levels of SDO advocated harsher punishment and attributed the crime to the offender’s personality. We discuss these results and identify new avenues for research.

Troubles mentaux, santé perçue et qualité de vie chez des détenus âgés en France

People serving prison sentences have major needs in terms of their physical and mental health. However, little is known about the prevalence of mental disorders affecting older prisoners and about how they evaluate their state of health and their quality of life. The aim of our study is to identify whether there is a link between mental disorders and the level of perceived health and quality of life of older prisoners. For the group 1, we recruited 138 male prisoners aged 50 and over in 7 French prisons. The control group was composed of 138 community-dwelling men aged 50 and over. The research protocol comprised four scales (The mini international neuropsychiatric interview, The French version of the Nottingham health profile, The scale of the subjective state of mental health, The WHOQOL-BREF). The results reveal a very high prevalence of mental disorders among older prisoners, notably depression and anxiety. The evaluation of perceived health and quality of life is also significantly lower in the group of older prisoners. We discuss the link between having one or more mental disorders and a negative evaluation of perceived health and quality of life.