Psychiatric aspects of contempt of court among women.
The case histories of 72 women admitted to prison for contempt of court in 1979-83 were reviewed. The sample included 45% of all women imprisoned for contempt in England and Wales over the 5-year period. The contemnors were significantly older than other sentenced prisoners, one third were foreign born and 37.5% were suffering from psychiatric disorder. Two thirds of the mentally disordered group had a paranoid disorder, litigiousness was a prominent feature of their illness, and 52% committed contempt in the context of a matrimonial dispute or a dispute with neighbours. Recent legislation may help to prevent the imprisonment of mentally ill contemnors.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology; D003416:Criminal Law; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007603:Jurisprudence; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010259:Paranoid Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D012563:Schizophrenia, Paranoid / Q000523:psychology; D012753:Shared Paranoid Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D014852:Wales