Brain injury and violent crime

To test the hypothesis that TBI is associated with violent crime, the prevalence and characteristics of traumatic brain injury (TBI) were compared between men convicted of domestic violence and a matched comparison group.

Participants were 20 African American men convicted of domestic violence and 20 African American men without criminal convictions matched for age and socioeconomic status. Participants completed a questionnaire regarding health and behaviour history.

More than half of the participants in both groups had sustained a TBI, although injuries in the offender group were significantly more severe. There were significantly more reports of problems with anger management in the offender group.

Published epidemiological data regarding TBI may underestimate the prevalence in urban populations, which may have confounded earlier studies of TBI and domestic violence. The reported prevalence in this sample of defendants suggests implications for the justice system.