The Ray-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test as a neuropsychological measure in criminal offenders.

What does the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (CFT) measure in criminal offenders? This study examined neuropsychological and personality test correlates of performance on the Complex Figure Test in a sample of 110 incarcerated criminal offenders. Three standard CFT scores-copy accuracy, memory recall accuracy, and organizational quality-did not discriminate between violent and nonviolent offenders, and were not correlated with either Psychopathy Checklist scores or self-reported anger using the Novaco Anger Scales. CFT performance was significantly correlated with two other standard neuropsychological measures, a short form of the Category Test and the Trail Making Test. As might be expected, CFT scores were positively correlated with WAIS-R Block Design, and to a lesser extent Vocabulary. Organizational quality scores were significantly correlated with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Approximately 27 to 36% of the variance in CFT scores could be explained by the combination of minority status, measures of nonverbal cognitive performance, and self-reported impulsivity.

Psychopathy in instrumental and reactive violent offenders.

Can violent offenders who commit acts of instrumental aggression for goal-oriented purposes such as robbery be distinguished from those who commit acts of reactive (or hostile) aggression in response to provocation? Because violent offenders often have a history of both instrumental and reactive aggression, this study distinguished between offenders with a history of at least 1 instrumental violent offense and offenders with a history of reactive violent offenses. Two studies tested the hypothesis that instrumental offenders would score higher than reactive offenders and nonviolent offenders on R. D. Hare's (1991) Psychopathy Checklist. The first study sample consisted of 106 violent and nonviolent offenders recruited from a medium-security correctional facility. The second study sample consisted of 50 violent offenders referred for pretrial forensic evaluation. In both samples, instrumental offenders could be reliably distinguished from reactive offenders on the basis of violent crime behavior and level of psychopathy. Group differences could not be attributed to participant age, race, length of incarceration, or extent of prior criminal record.