Neurological Soft Signs in Male Prisoners: A Cross-Sectional Study

The recent studies showed that the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and Neurological Soft Signs in aggressive persons and murderers are more than general populations. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of prisoners’ Neurological Soft Signs (NSS) and its association with crime subgroups in Rudsar prison. In a cross sectional study 161 prisoners in Rudsar general prison number 1 and 2 in 2006, were studied. The prisoner demographic characteristics were taken and after matching with prison records regarding NSS, were examined based on NSS checklist. Data were analyzed by SPSS 16 and ANOVA, MCT (Multiple Comparisons Test), Tukey test and Chi Square tests. The maximum frequency of NSS scores was seen in addiction and related offences and misdeed subgroup (P=0.02). The history of previous number of condemnations was higher in addiction and related offences, misdeed and fraud and financial offences subgroups respectively. Also there were not significant differences among subgroups regarding medical, neurological, psychiatric disorders and substances use history (P=0.65). There were significant differences between NSS scores and history of neurological disorders and psychiatric drug abuse (P=0.04). But there were not significant differences between NSS scores and history of medical disorders and substances use (P=0.81). According to results of this study, we cannot state a constant pattern regarding association between NSS scores and different types of crime. Contrary to findings of this study, in the previous studies NSS scores were higher in the group of violent offenses, which may be due to lack of execution in those countries. Therefore, comprehensive studies in this field is recommended.