Intellectual Quotient and Social Cognition in Young Offenders: A Relational Analysis

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) showed a broad executive function, as well as visual short-term, working memory (WM), and attention deficits. The inhibitory control and WM deficits may distinguish ASPD from other personality disorders. People with ASPD structure have deficiencies in the maturation of the prefrontal cortex which is evident in various neurocognitive problems, mainly in WM and social cognition (SC). In Colombia there is a high incidence of ASPD in young offenders, which makes the process of rehabilitation and resocialization more difficult. The aim of this paper was to develop a structural equation model (SEM) to identify the relationship between SC and intellectual quotient (IQ) in offenders with ASPD and make a comparative analysis by gender. A representative sample of 120 offenders was used (60 men and 60 women) of a Specialized Attention Center (SAC) in Medellin, Colombia. This paper concludes that there is a higher correlation between SC and IQ in women offenders with ASPD (σxy = 0.62) than in male offenders with ASPD (σxy = 0.54). Epidemiologists suggest that women have a high prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorders, which can be explained by internalized behavioral management. In general, men show a higher prevalence of disorders associated with impulse control through externalizing behavioral management. This shows that ASPD has been studied more in men and that ASPD profiles in women are lacking due to its low prevalence. Based on the results of the model developed, a neurocognitive profile of men and women with ASPD is presented.