Citation

Goethals KR, Gaertner WJP, Buitelaar JK, van Marle HJC. J. Forensic Psychiatry Psychol. 2008; 19(4): 561-575.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/14789940801928826

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

During the past 16 years, a small body of literature has accumulated regarding the sociodemographic characteristics of offenders with a major mental disorder (MMD). The general conclusion is that the combination of having a MMD and living in meagre, stressful circumstances may be much more predictive of the characteristics of social networks, relationships, and the risk of violence than any clinical factor alone. The aim of the present study was to test these findings. Four groups of patients were considered: three groups of offenders who had committed a very violent crime and had a psychosis or personality disorder or a combination of both, and one group from a general psychotic population. Retrospective data were collected and sociodemographic, diagnostic (DSM-IV), and psychiatric history variables were compared. There was a tendency for those detainees with a personality disorder to have victimised their partners, and for those detainees with psychosis to have victimised ‘business relations’, such as caregivers. Psychotic offenders had not experienced fewer problems than personality-disordered detainees in the two years before the offence. Psychotic detainees are often excluded from the care they need, but when they finally get care, their caregivers are at risk of violence.