Prenatal alcohol exposure: An assessment strategy for the legal context. (September 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Brown, Natalie Novick; Burd, Larry; Grant, Therese; Edwards, William; Adler, Richard; Streissguth, Ann
• Is Part Of: International journal of law and psychiatry. Volume 42/43(2015)
• Page Start: 144
• Page End: 148
• Publication Date: 2015-09
• Subjects: Prenatal alcohol exposure -- Maternal drinking -- Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder -- Courts -- Corrections -- Pre-trial investigation -- Mitigation -- Criminal justice -- Screening; Forensic psychiatry -- Periodicals; Insanity (Law) -- Periodicals; Criminal psychology -- Periodicals; Forensic Psychiatry -- Periodicals; Psychiatrie médico-légale -- Périodiques; Aliénation mentale -- Périodiques; Gerechtelijke psychiatrie; Electronic journals; 614.15
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2015.08.019
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0160-2527

Abstract

Abstract: Studies over the last two decades have shown that people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) have the kind of brain damage that increases risk of criminal behavior. Thus, it is generally accepted that FASD is likely to affect a sizable minority of individuals involved in the justice system. Most of these defendants have never been diagnosed because they lack the facial abnormalities and severe intellectual deficiency that would have improved identification and diagnosis in childhood. Despite the fact that an FASD diagnosis and associated cognitive deficits may be directly relevant to offense conduct and post-arrest capacities, screening for prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) by legal teams remains relatively rare. This article addresses the relatively straightforward screening process with strategies that may be used singly or in combination to produce information that can establish PAE and provide a foundation for diagnostic assessment by medical and mental health experts.