Temperament and character in homicidal patients with schizophrenia. 2019

Branimir Margetić, and Branka Aukst Margetić, and Dragutin Ivanec
a Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Neuropsychiatric hospital "Dr. Ivan Barbot" , Popovača , Croatia.

Background: Understanding the etiology of violence in patients with schizophrenia is an issue of great clinical and public importance. Although personality traits are an important aspect in determining complex behaviors of schizophrenia patients, there is a lack of research on the relationship between personality traits and violence, especially homicidal behavior, in this population. Aim: We aimed to compare temperament and character dimensions between homicidal and other mostly violent forensic patients with schizophrenia, and to determine which temperament and character dimensions are associated with homicidal behavior in these patients. Methods: We recruited 71 male forensic schizophrenia patients without concomitant substance dependence and antisocial personality disorder. The patients were divided into two groups according to trial documentation as: (1) Homicide and attempted homicide group (N 30; 42%), and (2) Other offenses group (N 41; 58%). Patients were assessed by means of the Temperament and Character Inventory and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Differences between groups were tested with t-test. Results: The two groups of patients were similar in their PANSS scores, but the homicidal men were significantly more likely to show higher harm avoidance (HA) scores than the less violent comparison men (t = 2,876, df-69, p = 0.005). Conclusions: Our results indicate that forensic schizophrenic patients with higher HA scores would show a greater risk of homicidal violence. Improved understanding of personality traits associated with such behavior is needed in order to prevent homicidal behavior. Importance of these results suggests that further study is needed.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D010555 Personality Inventory Check list, usually to be filled out by a person about himself, consisting of many statements about personal characteristics which the subject checks. Edwards Personal Preference Schedule,Myers-Briggs Type Indicator,Indicator, Myers-Briggs Type,Inventories, Personality,Inventory, Personality,Myers Briggs Type Indicator,Personality Inventories
D002605 Character In current usage, approximately equivalent to personality. The sum of the relatively fixed personality traits and habitual modes of response of an individual. Characters
D006708 Homicide The killing of one person by another. Murder,Killing,Wrongful Death,Death, Wrongful,Deaths, Wrongful,Homicides,Killings,Murders,Wrongful Deaths
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D000374 Aggression Behavior which may be manifested by destructive and attacking action which is verbal or physical, by covert attitudes of hostility or by obstructionism. Aggressions
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
D012565 Schizophrenic Psychology Study of mental processes and behavior of schizophrenics. Psychology, Schizophrenic
D013694 Temperament Predisposition to react to one's environment in a certain way; usually refers to mood changes. Temperaments

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