NCJ Number
138981
Journal
Archives of General Psychiatry Volume: 49 Issue: 6 Dated: (June 1992) Pages: 476-484
Date Published
1992
Length
9 pages
Annotation
A Swedish birth cohort followed up to age 30 years provided data regarding the relationship between crime and mental disorders and crime and intellectual deficiencies.
Abstract
The analysis used the official police and mental health records on all 7,362 men and 7,039 women born in Stockholm in 1953, living there in 1963, and available for followup in 1983. The results revealed that men with major mental disorders were 2.5 times more likely than men with no disorder or handicap to have a record for a criminal offense and 4 times more likely to have a record for a violent offense. Women with major disorders were 5 times more likely than women with no disorder or handicap to be registered for an offense and 27 times more likely to be registered for a violent offense. These individuals committed many serious offenses throughout their lives, and the criminal behavior appeared in over half before age 18. Findings confirm and extend previous findings. However, in the United States, where crime rates and crime by drug abusers are very high, the mentally disordered and intellectually handicapped account for only a small proportion of the offenses. Tables, figures, and 62 references (Author abstract modified)