The influence of brain abnormalities on psychosocial development, criminal history and paraphilias in sexual murderers.
The aim of this study was to investigate the number and type of brain abnormalities and their influence on psychosocial development, criminal history and paraphilias in sexual murderers. We analyzed psychiatric court reports of 166 sexual murderers and compared a group with notable signs of brain abnormalities (N = 50) with those without any signs (N = 116). Sexual murderers with brain abnormalities suffered more from early behavior problems. They were less likely to cohabitate with the victim at the time of the homicide and had more victims at the age of six years or younger. Psychiatric diagnoses revealed a higher total number of paraphilias: Transvestic fetishism and paraphilias not otherwise specified were more frequent in offenders with brain abnormalities. A binary logistic regression identified five predictors that accounted for 46.8% of the variance explaining the presence of brain abnormalities. Our results suggest the importance of a comprehensive neurological and psychological examination of this special offender group.
Briken
Peer
P
Institute for Sex Research and Forensic Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Hamburg, Germany. briken@uke.uni-hamburg.de
Habermann
Niels
N
Berner
Wolfgang
W
Hill
Andreas
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000002:abnormalities*; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D004522:Educational Status; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010262:Paraphilic Disorders; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012934:Social Isolation