Background characteristics of mentally ill homicide offenders – a comparison of five diagnostic groups

Abstract

Background characteristics of homicide offenders in relation to their diagnoses were investigated. Forensic psychiatric examination statements of 183 Finnish homicide offenders belonging to five different diagnostic categories were content-analysed for 90 dichotomous offender background variables. In several aspects alcoholics resembled offenders with no diagnosis, in that these offenders had less problematic backgrounds compared to other groups. Offenders with schizophrenia were relatively well-adjusted in childhood, however, in adolescence and adulthood, social isolation, withdrawal and other difficulties attributable to the illness of these offenders became evident. Offenders with personality disorder or drug addiction had experienced multiple difficulties in their early environments: both family and individual problems, such as parental alcohol abuse and school problems, were typical. The results suggest that offenders with different disorders differ in their background variables. These results emphasize the importance of early interventions for problem families and children at risk of antisocial behaviour and may also benefit development of effective treatments for violent offenders as well as investigations of homicide. Some methodological problems in forensic psychiatric examination based research are considered.

Keywords:

• homicide
• violence
• mental illness
• adjustment
• criminality
• background

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors wish to thank the National Authority of Medicolegal Affairs for co-operation. A Grant from the Oskar Öflund Foundation to the first author supported this study, together with grants no. 75697 and 211176 from the Finnish Academy to the second author.