title: [Alcohol-dependent criminals: on the problem of their confinement according to paragraph 64 of the German federal law].
abstract: The article presents part of the results of a Federal German investigation of psychiatric confinement in cases of delinquency in accordance with German law. Among the 674 inmates whose case history could be included in the investigation, there was a predominance of alcohol dependence in two-thirds of them. Confinement occurred mostly only after addiction and delinquencies had been going on for a long time. In more than one-half of the patients no attempt had previously been made to treat and manage their alcohol addiction. Every fourth patient is confined without first consulting a psychiatric expert. Basing on sociobiographic characteristics it is possible to form two contrasting groups of patients: a smaller group where addiction has set in early and delinquency at a late stage, and a larger one with early onset of delinquency developing parallel to the abuse of alcohol. This leads to conclusions with regard to the development of specific treatment guidelines.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003415:Crime; D005260:Female; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry; D005860:Germany, West; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation
vernacular_title: Alkoholabhängige Straftäter: Zur Problematik der Unterbringung nach paragraph 64 StGB.