Verbal Intelligence and Criminal Offending Among Men With Schizophrenia

Abstract

There are well-documented associations between low verbal IQ and criminal offending and between low verbal IQ and early-onset persistent offending among males in the general population. This study was designed to test whether similar associations could be observed in a sample of 219 men with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. The participants were recruited at discharge from forensic and general psychiatric hospitals in four sites in Canada, Finland, Germany and Sweden. In the weeks preceding discharge, information was collected from participants, family members, staff, and official records. The results demonstrated that low verbal IQ was not associated with the risk of criminal offending, nor with the numbers of offences, but with the age at first non-violent offence. Low verbal IQ was associated with lengthy stays in hospital that may have limited further criminal offending.