Criminality and aggression among psychotic in-patients: frequency and clinical correlates.
OBJECTIVE
Violence is common among patients with psychoses. The aim of the study was to examine relations between diagnoses, crimes, demographic variables and aggressive behaviour during admission to hospital.


METHODS
During 14 months 257 patients were consecutively referred to a unit with high staff/patient ratio. They were assessed for clinical symptoms at admittance and discharge. Also legal status, coercive measures, criminality and sentences were examined.


RESULTS
Of the 257 patients, 38% were found in the police register and 33% had been prosecuted. Those patients committed 2525 crimes, including 292 acts of violence. Problems during admittance were related more to positive symptoms at admittance than to earlier criminality.


CONCLUSIONS
Criminality rate is high among patients with functional psychoses. Many patients, especially women, had never been evaluated by a forensic psychiatrist. The psychiatric services have to consider the importance of preventing psychotic relapses and thereby also preventing violence and criminality.
Tuninger E
E
E
Department of Psychiatry, Malmö, Lund University and Resurskliniken, University Hospital MAS, Malmö, Sweden.
Levander
S
S
Bernce
R
R
Johansson
G
G
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D003415:Crime; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D017678:Sex Distribution