NCJ Number
147438
Journal
Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law Volume: 21 Issue: 2 Dated: (1993) Pages: 155-160
Date Published
1993
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article examines the suggestion that patients with major mental disorders are at increased risk for crimes and violence.
Abstract
The authors hypothesized that among offenders with major mental disorders there are two groups: (1) those with a secondary diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder (APD), and a childhood history of antisocial and criminal behavior preceding the onset of a major disorder; (2) those who do not meet the criteria for APD, and behave criminally only as adults. This hypothesis was tested on a representative sample of penitentiary inmates with major mental disorders. It was found that those with APD had a significant childhood history of criminal activity and antisocial behavior, endorsing, on average, eight of ten possible indices. In comparison, the mentally disordered inmates without APD endorsed on average two indices. The mentally disordered offenders with APD began their criminal careers earlier, and had significantly more convictions and more convictions for nonviolent offenses than those without APD. APD was not associated with violence among men with major mental disorders. One table, references