Biomaterial Database

Forensic psychiatry: diagnosis and criminal responsibility. 1976

F A Henn, and M Herjanic, and R H Vanderpearl

An examination of the primary and secondary diagnoses of 1195 defendants admitted to an urban forensic service was carried out. This indicated that personality disorders dominated the referral patterns from the court. Of those conditions which could produce thought disorders, schizophrenia dominated. An analysis of the prevalence of schizophrenia among defendants charged with homicide in St. Louis revealed a rate of schizophrenia similar to that found in the general population. Organic brain syndromes resulted in a large proportion of assaultive behavior, and these cases also involved a large number of secondary diagnoses. Alcohol and drug abuse were the most common secondary diagnoses. In general, no correlation between psychiatric diagnosis and types of criminal activity was found.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D010554	Personality Disorders	A major deviation from normal patterns of behavior.	Avoidant Personality Disorder,Impulse-Ridden Personality,Inadequate Personality,Avoidant Personality Disorders,Impulse Ridden Personality,Personality Disorder,Personality Disorder, Avoidant,Personality Disorders, Avoidant,Personality, Impulse-Ridden,Personality, Inadequate
D003417	Criminal Psychology	The branch of psychology which investigates the psychology of crime with particular reference to the personality factors of the criminal.	Psychology, Criminal
D005555	Forensic Psychiatry	Psychiatry in its legal aspects. This includes criminology, penology, commitment of mentally ill, the psychiatrist's role in compensation cases, the problems of releasing information to the court, and of expert testimony.	Jurisprudence, Psychiatric,Psychiatric Jurisprudence,Psychiatry, Forensic
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000437	Alcoholism	A primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial. Each of these symptoms may be continuous or periodic. (Morse & Flavin for the Joint Commission of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the American Society of Addiction Medicine to Study the Definition and Criteria for the Diagnosis of Alcoholism: in JAMA 1992;268:1012-4)	Alcohol Abuse,Alcoholic Intoxication, Chronic,Ethanol Abuse,Alcohol Addiction,Alcohol Dependence,Alcohol Use Disorder,Abuse, Alcohol,Abuse, Ethanol,Addiction, Alcohol,Alcohol Use Disorders,Chronic Alcoholic Intoxication,Dependence, Alcohol,Intoxication, Chronic Alcoholic,Use Disorders, Alcohol
D001523	Mental Disorders	Psychiatric illness or diseases manifested by breakdowns in the adaptational process expressed primarily as abnormalities of thought, feeling, and behavior producing either distress or impairment of function.	Mental Illness,Psychiatric Diseases,Psychiatric Disorders,Psychiatric Illness,Behavior Disorders,Diagnosis, Psychiatric,Mental Disorders, Severe,Psychiatric Diagnosis,Illness, Mental,Mental Disorder,Mental Disorder, Severe,Mental Illnesses,Psychiatric Disease,Psychiatric Disorder,Psychiatric Illnesses,Severe Mental Disorder,Severe Mental Disorders
D012559	Schizophrenia	A severe emotional disorder of psychotic depth characteristically marked by a retreat from reality with delusion formation, HALLUCINATIONS, emotional disharmony, and regressive behavior.	Dementia Praecox,Schizophrenic Disorders,Disorder, Schizophrenic,Disorders, Schizophrenic,Schizophrenias,Schizophrenic Disorder