Rivista di psichiatria最新文献

{"title":"Femicide is a crime of power: learning a new vocabulary.","authors":"Paola Di Nicola Travaglini","doi":"10.1708/4714.47298","DOIUrl":"10.1708/4714.47298","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Femicide represents an unparalleled criminal phenomenon both in Italy and worldwide, characterized by tolerance and substantial impunity rooted in a culture shared even by institutions. With Law No. 181 of 2025, Italy stands among the few European countries to have included the crime of femicide into the penal code, clearly defining the discriminatory structure of a crime too often romanticized and reduced to a private matter. Article 577-bis punishes anyone who causes the death of a woman with life imprisonment when the crime is committed as an act of hatred, discrimination, abuse, control, possession or domination on a woman. WHO data show that 35% of women experience violence, especially within the family, and that the leading cause of death for women aged 16 to 44 is murder by their partner or ex-partner. Globally, 137 femicides occur every day, approximately 50,000 per year. Only 10.5% of victims report to authorities. The Italian Commission of Inquiry found that 90% of 211 femicides were committed in an affective and familial context, and only in 15% of cases women had previously reported abuse. Male violence against women is systematic and discriminatory in every social, cultural and economic context. Binding supranational sources (CEDAW, ECHR, Istanbul Convention, EU Directives) are based on the assumption that these crimes are rooted in unequal relations between the sexes. The psychiatrisation of femicide perpetrators represents an interpretive distortion that makes invisible the discriminatory nature of the crime. International scientific evidence confirms that only a small percentage of femicides are committed by subjects with diagnosed mental disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":21506,"journal":{"name":"Rivista di psichiatria","volume":"61 3","pages":"134-140"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148219473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A natural and cultural history of femicide.","authors":"Gilberto Corbellini","doi":"10.1708/4714.47292","DOIUrl":"10.1708/4714.47292","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article offers an interdisciplinary analysis of femicide as a historical, anthropological, and structural phenomenon, arguing that it should not be understood as a contingent anomaly or an archaic residue, but as a recurrent form of violence rooted in the dynamics of human social organisation. The analysis distinguishes between proximate causes, which vary across time and space in relation to legal, economic, and cultural contexts, and underlying causes, characterised by a high degree of transhistorical and transcultural stability. Comparative data indicate that femicide occurs predominantly within intimate relationships, disproportionately affects young women and women of reproductive age, and is more frequent in contexts of socio-economic vulnerability. The article reconstructs the genealogy of the concept of \"femicide,\" from its first nineteenth-century lexical appearance to its theoretical reformulation beginning in the Seventies, and to the emergence, in the twenty-first century, of the notion of \"feminicide.\" The analysis integrates a historical-structural perspective with an anthropological-evolutionary approach, highlighting the role of predispositions related to sexuality, jealousy, and control. These predispositions are not treated as deterministic, but as strongly shaped by processes of socialisation. On this basis, the article argues for shifting a substantial part of prevention \"upstream,\" addressing not only femicide as an extreme event but also the more ordinary forms of domination and relational violence. It advances the hypothesis that systematic school-based anti-bullying prevention may constitute an effective long-term strategy for reducing gender-based violence, through education in scientific rationality, the recognition of cognitive biases, non-violent conflict management, and an understanding of institutional functioning.</p>","PeriodicalId":21506,"journal":{"name":"Rivista di psichiatria","volume":"61 3","pages":"96-102"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148219467","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The final appointment: risk factors and prevention of femicide.","authors":"Massimo Biondi, Angela Iannitelli","doi":"10.1708/4714.47291","DOIUrl":"10.1708/4714.47291","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This editorial summarizes the 2025 Sapienza University conference on femicide, emphasizing a multidisciplinary approach. Femicide is defined as a structural \"crime of power\" rooted in gender inequality and the drive for domination, rather than isolated pathology. Risk factors include possessiveness, jealousy, and male identity crises triggered by female autonomy. Research identifies it as the terminal stage of relational violence, often involving \"overkilling\". Prevention requires early recognition of warning signs and \"upstream\" educational interventions to address aggression in schools. The authors call for a cultural transformation and institutional accountability to dismantle stereotypes that normalize violence. Ultimately, femicide is framed as a social problem needing coordinated clinical, legal, and cultural action across society.</p>","PeriodicalId":21506,"journal":{"name":"Rivista di psichiatria","volume":"61 3","pages":"93-95"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148219457","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Femicide as the extreme expression of violence against women: medico-legal definition, forensic evidence and prevention perspectives from an Italian nationwide study.","authors":"Rossana Cecchi, Jessika Camatti, Anna Laura Santunione","doi":"10.1708/4714.47293","DOIUrl":"10.1708/4714.47293","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Femicide represents the most extreme expression of violence against women. This article aims to frame femicide through a shared medico-legal definition and to illustrate its distinctive forensic characteristics, highlighting their relevance for prevention, while also addressing the convergence between forensic evidence and the recent legal recognition of femicide in Italy.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The paper integrates conceptual analysis with empirical evidence derived from a nationwide forensic case-series conducted in Italy, involving 27 university Institutes of Forensic Medicine. Femicide cases were identified according to a shared medico-legal definition grounded in the violation of the victim's right to self-determination. Circumstantial, relational, and lesional patterns were systematically analyzed and interpreted within an interdisciplinary framework.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Femicide emerged as a distinct form of female homicide, predominantly occurring in intimate or domestic contexts and characterized by recurrent forensic features, including overkillng, involvement of identity-related body areas such as the face and erogenous zones, and the use of multiple or combined methods of attack. These patterns were significantly less frequent in other female homicides and challenge narratives centered on psychopathology of the perpetrator.</p><p><strong>Discussion and conclusions: </strong>Findings support the recognition of femicide as a specific and identifiable phenomenon rooted in the denial of women's self-determination. The medico-legal approach provides objective elements that not only facilitate post hoc classification but also offer valuable insights for risk assessment and prevention. Knowledge, shared definitions, and awareness are essential tools to recognize violence early and to prevent its lethal escalation.</p>","PeriodicalId":21506,"journal":{"name":"Rivista di psichiatria","volume":"61 3","pages":"103-109"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148219523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mental disorder and criminal responsibility in femicide: a cross-jurisdictional analysis.","authors":"Matteo Lippi, Felice Marco Damato, Francesca Orsini, Paola Frati, Raffaella Rinaldi","doi":"10.1708/4714.47296","DOIUrl":"10.1708/4714.47296","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Femicide is recognized as one of the most severe expressions of gender-based violence and causes complex assessment issues for both criminal justice systems and forensic psychiatry. This paper assesses the relationship between mental disorder and criminal responsibility of perpetrators of femicide and intimate partner homicide (IPH), through a comparison of clinical-forensic evidence from different national contexts. Four international studies (England and Wales, Sweden, Mexico, and South Africa) and the report of the Italian Parliamentary Commission on femicide for the 2017-2018 biennium were considered. Overall, a substantial proportion of perpetrators present psychiatric symptoms or prior contact with mental health services; however, judicial findings of non-responsibility remain relatively infrequent. In England and Wales, symptoms of mental disorder at the time of the offence are reported in approximately 20% of IPH cases, whereas outcomes closest to findings of non-responsibility concern less than 1%. In Sweden, 41.3% of IPH perpetrators had previous contact with psychiatric services, but major mental disorders at the time of the offence account for approximately 11% of cases. Higher frequencies are observed in samples selected for forensic psychiatric evaluation. In Italy, among 118 cases concluded with sentencing, a mental disorder affecting criminal responsibility was recognized in 24.6% of cases: full insanity in 13.6%, partial insanity in 7.6%, and suspension of proceedings due to incompetence to stand trial in 3.4%. Overall, the findings highlight the need to carefully distinguish between psychiatric diagnosis and legal constructs of criminal responsibility. The presence of a mental disorder does not automatically imply non-responsibility and requires an individualized clinical-forensic assessment, focusing on the nexus between psychopathological condition, capacities at the time of the offence, and the relational context in which the act occurred.</p>","PeriodicalId":21506,"journal":{"name":"Rivista di psichiatria","volume":"61 3","pages":"124-129"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148219514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Psychopathological profiles of femicide and femicide-suicide: from a descriptive analysis to a possible structural model.","authors":"Giuseppe Bersani","doi":"10.1708/4714.47295","DOIUrl":"10.1708/4714.47295","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Within the complexity of the phenomenon of femicide, it is possible to identify some recurring elements that support some reflections on the etiological mechanisms of this dramatic phenomenon. The personality profile of the male perpetrator of femicide is very often characterized by the variable interaction of several key psychological and behavioral dimensions, potentially characterized by psychopathology, such as jealousy, possessiveness, impulsiveness, aggression, and dependence. These personality traits appear to be fundamental in the couple's relationship, and the breakdown of this relationship due to the woman's evolution toward greater autonomy can induce in the man a reaction of emotional dyscontrol, centered essentially on anger. This, even in a state of lucidity, awareness, and self-determination, can result in the woman's murder. The cultural context of belonging can naturally play a role in fostering this development. Excessive anger, a primary factor in the mental state of the perpetrator of femicide, can extend its effects to broader destructive behaviors, both toward other family members and toward the femicide himself, thus shaping the frequent phenomenon of femicide-suicide. Although the limited literature consistently indicates a low incidence of recognized mental disorders in the perpetrator prior to the act, the overall picture of the event appears repetitive and indicates a basic formal structure that suggests a possible \"syndromic\" model of his psychopathology in which an excess of anger plays a central role. Early recognition of the dynamic factors underlying this structure can contribute to developing strategies for preventing femicide.</p>","PeriodicalId":21506,"journal":{"name":"Rivista di psichiatria","volume":"61 3","pages":"119-123"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148219452","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Homicide-suicide: current evidence, risk assessment, and medico-legal implications in forensic psychiatry.","authors":"Dalila Tripi, Stefano Ferracuti","doi":"10.1708/4714.47294","DOIUrl":"10.1708/4714.47294","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Homicide-suicide is a rare but highly impactful form of lethal violence characterized by the convergence of suicidality, interpersonal aggression, and psychopathology. This narrative review summarizes current evidence regarding epidemiology, major subtypes, interpretative models, psychiatric and relational risk factors, risk assessment strategies, prevention approaches, and medico-legal implications within forensic psychiatry. Available data suggest that homicide-suicide represents a distinct phenomenon rather than the mere succession of homicide and suicide, most frequently occurring in intrafamilial contexts, particularly in intimate partner violence. Depression, suicidal ideation, relational crisis, substance misuse, warning signs, and access to lethal means emerge as the most relevant clinical and contextual variables. From a forensic psychiatric perspective, risk assessment requires an integrated and dynamic approach combining clinical judgment, structured instruments, collateral information, and evaluation of relational escalation. Preventive strategies include early identification of high-risk configurations, restriction of access to lethal means, interagency collaboration, and timely protective interventions. Homicide-suicide therefore represents a major clinical and medico-legal challenge, highlighting the need for specific operational protocols and closer integration between suicide prevention and violence prevention frameworks.</p>","PeriodicalId":21506,"journal":{"name":"Rivista di psichiatria","volume":"61 3","pages":"110-118"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148219488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The absolute possess. A psychoanalytic reading of femicide.","authors":"Angela Iannitelli","doi":"10.1708/4714.47297","DOIUrl":"10.1708/4714.47297","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>After a brief reflection on the choice of the term femicide, the discussion moves toward a psychoanalytical reading of the phenomenon, starting from the classical texts of Sigmund Freud, Melanie Klein e Jacques Lacan, and extending to contemporary theorization on gender culture and the culture of the neutral. Dynamics of possession are analyzed through the lens of Italian feminism, in an interweaving of psychoanalysis and feminism aimed at assessing the risk and preventive factors of this harrowing phenomenon.</p>","PeriodicalId":21506,"journal":{"name":"Rivista di psichiatria","volume":"61 3","pages":"130-133"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148219450","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Early psychological intervention for war-related trauma in a hospitalized child from Gaza: a case report.","authors":"Elena Catino, Roberto Paparella, Maria Nania, Giulia Silla, Fabiola Panvino, Francesca Tarani, Lucia Leonardi, Sabrina Venditti, Domenico Magnante, Marco Fiore, Ignazio Ardizzone, Luigi Tarani","doi":"10.1708/4685.47001","DOIUrl":"10.1708/4685.47001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This paper describes the psychological and clinical course of a nine-year-old girl from Gaza admitted to a Pediatric Department. A family-centered psychological intervention was implemented during hospitalization. The clinical presentation was consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder. The case highlights the importance of early psychological intervention in supporting trauma processing, limiting the effects of prolonged hospitalization, and fostering a shared multidisciplinary narrative of the traumatic experience.</p>","PeriodicalId":21506,"journal":{"name":"Rivista di psichiatria","volume":"61 2","pages":"83-86"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148034628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Study on independent influencing factors of compliance in patients with schizophrenia treated with paliperidone palmitate injection.","authors":"Hu Yu, Yu Di, Li Jiahuan, Li Qiusi, Li Zhiwu, Zhang Zongyu, Liu Changhui, Yan Hongfeng","doi":"10.1708/4685.47000","DOIUrl":"10.1708/4685.47000","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Patients with schizophrenia require long-term treatment, and poor medication compliance during therapy is a common issue. Poor compliance can lead to recurrent fluctuations in the patients' disease course, exacerbate its progressive deterioration, severely impact patients' social functioning and quality of life, and thus represents an increasingly serious public health problem. Long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) are generally considered one of the most effective treatments in psychiatry, which can reduce the substantial economic burden on patients and society, lowering readmission rates, improving patients' quality of life, and decreasing healthcare costs. This study is a retrospective analysis based on follow-up data from patients with severe mental disorders.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The study aims to explore the factors influencing medication compliance in schizophrenia patients treated with paliperidone palmitate injection, providing a basis for developing targeted compliance intervention strategies in clinical practice. The study included schizophrenia patients receiving paliperidone palmitate injection and systematically analyzed the impact of variables such as demographic characteristics, caregiver competence, social functioning, disease duration, and the presence of comorbid chronic conditions on medication compliance.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Medication compliance in patients with schizophrenia is influenced by the interaction of multiple factors. Among these, age ≥50 years is a core independent risk factor affecting medication compliance, while having a guardian with good caregiving ability serves as an independent protective factor. The impact of a disease duration ≥10 years on compliance approaches statistical significance (p=0.050). A comparison of social functioning across the dimensions of the SDSS revealed that differences in social functioning deficits between the two groups with different levels of medication compliance were only evident in the dimensions of social withdrawal and interest in and concern for the external environment. This suggests that deficits in these specific dimensions of social functioning are also important factors influencing medication compliance in patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":21506,"journal":{"name":"Rivista di psichiatria","volume":"61 2","pages":"78-82"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148034591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}