{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T14:53:22Z","timestamp":1788274402153,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,23]],"date-time":"2024-01-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1705968000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Hum. Neurosci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Homelessness is associated with multiple risk factors for neurocognitive impairment. Past research with people experiencing homelessness has described \u201cfrontal lobe\u201d dysfunction including behavioral disorders and executive cognitive impairments. In the current study, 72 adults experiencing homelessness were assessed with a standardized assessment of executive function, and interviewed regarding neurological and psychiatric history. When compared to a control sample of 25 never-homeless participants, and controlling for level of education, there was little evidence for executive dysfunction in the sample of people experiencing homelessness. Levels of substance abuse, past head injury, and post-traumatic stress disorder were notably high. However, there were no statistically significant associations between cognitive task performance and clinical or substance abuse variables. Gambling was surprisingly infrequent, but risk-taking behavior among intravenous drug users was common. Though in neither case was it linked to executive function. Overall, there was little evidence for executive impairment in this sample of people experiencing homelessness. I suggest that past research has often used inappropriate criteria for \u201cnormal\u201d performance, particularly comparing people experiencing homelessness to control data of relatively high education level. This has led to elements of \u201cfrontal lobology,\u201d that is, clinical neuroscience research that tends to overly link non-typical or pathological behavior to frontal lobe impairment. When appropriate comparisons are made, controlling for education level, as in this study, associations between executive function impairments and adult homelessness may be weaker than previously reported.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fnhum.2024.1359027","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,23]],"date-time":"2024-01-23T04:11:58Z","timestamp":1705983118000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Executive function and adult homelessness, true impairment or frontal lobology?"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Graham","family":"Pluck","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12888-019-2361-7","article-title":"The prevalence of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders among homeless people: a systematic review and meta-analysis.","volume":"19","author":"Ayano","year":"2019","journal-title":"BMC Psychiatry"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"55","DOI":"10.1080\/13676261.2015.1048201","article-title":"The variation in family background amongst young homeless shelter users in Denmark.","volume":"19","author":"Benjaminsen","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. 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