Karniski W M, Levine M D, Clarke S, Palfrey J S, Meltzer L J
J Adolesc Health Care. 1982 Dec;3(3):151-9. doi: 10.1016/s0197-0070(82)80118-6.
Subtle deficits or delays in the development of the central nervous system in young children are associated with problems affecting learning, behavior, and social adjustment. Less is known about the impact of such neurodevelopmental dysfunction in adolescents. This study assesses the possible association between neurodevelopmental delays and juvenile delinquency. An adolescent neurodevelopment examination was devised and administered to 54 delinquents and 51 secondary school students. Six areas were assessed. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of minor neurologic signs (P = 0.37) or in gross motor function (P = 0.02) and temporal sequential organization (P = 0.04). The greatest differences were in visual processing (P = 0.0002) and auditory-language function (P = 0.0001). Eighteen percent of delinquents and 4% of the comparison group were deficient in two or more neurodevelopmental areas. Nine percent of the delinquents and none of the comparison group had three or more dysfunctions. A neurodevelopmental examination may be a useful diagnostic tool for identifying endogenous factors in behavior, learning, and adjustment problems of this age group. Such findings have implications for the formulation of individualized management strategies.
幼儿中枢神经系统发育中的细微缺陷或延迟与影响学习、行为和社会适应的问题相关。对于青少年中这种神经发育功能障碍的影响，人们了解得较少。本研究评估神经发育延迟与青少年犯罪之间可能存在的关联。设计并对54名少年犯和51名中学生进行了青少年神经发育检查。评估了六个方面。轻微神经体征的患病率（P = 0.37）、粗大运动功能（P = 0.02）和时间顺序组织（P = 0.04）方面无显著差异。最大的差异在于视觉处理（P = 0.0002）和听觉语言功能（P = 0.0001）。18%的少年犯和4%的对照组在两个或更多神经发育领域存在缺陷。9%的少年犯有三种或更多功能障碍，而对照组无一例。神经发育检查可能是识别该年龄组行为；学习和适应问题中内源性因素的有用诊断工具。这些发现对制定个性化管理策略具有启示意义。
