Premium
Arsonists Suffering From Schizophrenia—A Description in Comparison with Other Offenders with a Similar Diagnosis
Author(s) -
Günther Moritz Philipp,
Kirchebner Johannes,
Lau Steffen
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.14271
Subject(s) - schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , psychology , context (archaeology) , diagnosis of schizophrenia , poison control , injury prevention , psychiatry , anger , human factors and ergonomics , suicide prevention , psychosis , clinical psychology , medical emergency , medicine , paleontology , biology
Abstract This study aims to describe the small and distinct subgroup of arsonists diagnosed with schizophrenia, their motives, personal, and crime scene characteristics. While prior research identified significant differences to other criminals, firesetters in general, or mentally disordered offenders, there are no comparisons with other offender patients with schizophrenia so far. In a forensic institution in Switzerland, a group of 30 arsonists with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD) was compared to 340 other offender patients with SSD using retrograde file analysis and multiple adapted Fisher´s exact tests. While symptoms of SSD were most defining of both groups, arsonists with SSD were more often single, unemployed, prescribed psychiatric medication at index offense, had a smaller variety of criminal motives, and acted out of anger or revenge in the context of a relationship. In conclusion, symptoms of SSD may be more defining and useful in guiding clinical practice than aspects specific to arsonists.