Impulsive and Compulsive Reading Comprehension in the Prison Population

Abstract

Background: Whilst there are limited studies of the prison population, data from several investigations suggest that a significant number of prisoners could have limited reading abilities. Moreover, reading and writing disorders are characteristics of developmental dyslexia and these problems persist into adulthood. Academic failure is strongly correlated with dyslexia, impulsive, compulsive and criminal behaviors. Aim: To describe impulsive or compulsive reading comprehension (using PROLEC-SE-R) in order to determine the differences in errors in reading processes between two groups with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) and the relationship with criminal behavior in the prison population. Methods & Procedures: We used data from 194 participants: 81 with ASPD and 113 with OCPD from a prison center of Albolote in Granada, Spain. Participants took part in interviews to gather data on demographic, criminal and behavioral data, and tests were conducted including the International Examination for Personality Disorders (IPDE); Symptom Inventory (SCL-90-R) and Battery for the Assessment of Reading Processes in Secondary and High School - Revised (PROLEC-SE-R). Outcomes & Results: Our findings indicate differences in reading skills between the ASPD and OCPD groups. Specifically, lower rates of Lexical Selection; Semantic Categorization; Grammar Structures; Grammatical judgements; Expository Comprehension from PROLEC-SE-R in the OCPD group compared with the ASPD group. Although, we found higher scores on Narrative Comprehension from the PROLEC-SE-R in the OCPD group compared with the ASPD group. Conclusions & Implications: The OCPD group showed slow lexical-phonological coding and slow phonological activation. Specifically, they obtained lower scores on Lexical Selection, Semantic Categorization, Grammatical Structures I, Expository Comprehension in comparison with the ASPD group. OCPD group obtained higher scores on Grammatical Judgments and Narrative Comprehension. The process that begins with a reading problem and ends in incarceration involves not only emotional and social costs for the lives of the prisoners, but also entails an economic cost to the judicial system of each country. This school-criminal sequence should receive specialist attention to alleviate the reading problems of the prison population.