Comparison of Clinical and Criminological Features of Patients with Organic Mental

Abstract

Study Objective: To study the clinical and criminological factors in patients with schizophrenia and organic mental disorders (OMDs) recorded before the first socially dangerous act (SDA), and to analyse various features taking into account follow-up of these patients and repeated SDA prevention. Study Design: Comparative study. Materials and Methods. The study included 86 schizophrenia patients (study group A) and 45 patients with OMDs (study group B) who committed repeated SDAs, were found insane and were forced to undergo various court-appointed therapies for 2 and more times. In this study, we used the clinical psychopathologic method with due account to psychopathology and clinical statistic method as the main methods. Study Results. 49 (57%) and 23 (51.1%) patients in group A and group B, respectively, were not held criminally liable before; thus, 37 (43%) patients in group A and 22 (48.9%) patients in group B had criminal records. In group A, 26 (30.2%) patients were held criminally liable once, whereas in group B — 9 (20%); 11 (12.8%) and 13 (28.9%) patients, respectively, had multiple criminal records. Patients with schizophrenia committed more crimes against life — 13.5% in past medical history to 30.2% in case of a repeated SDA; the number of crimes against property remained relatively stable (from 59.4% in past medical history to 54.7% in case of a repeated SDA). Drug-related crimes became more numerous: an increase from 2.7 to 11.7%. In patients with OMDs, the number of crimes against property dropped from 86.4% in past medical history to 51.1% in case of a repeated SDA, whereas the number of crimes against life rose (from 4.5% in past medical history and up to 35.6% in case of a repeated SDA). At the same time, the incidence of drug-related crimes grew insignificantly (from 9.1% to 11.1%). Conclusion. It was found out that patients in these nosological categories have specific criminal behaviours affecting their illegal activities, features of SDA relapses, and changes in the criminal behaviour structure over the course of disease. The obtained data make it possible to study the characteristics of criminal behaviours of mentally handicapped individuals and will help develop recommendations for prevention and forecast of crimes committed by mentally ill persons. Keywords: psychiatry, organic mental disorders, schizophrenia, socially dangerous acts.