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Serious sex offending against women by men with schizophrenia

Relationship of illness and psychotic symptoms to offending

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Alan D. Smith  and
Pamela J. Taylor
Alan D. Smith*
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, London
Pamela J. Taylor
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, London
*
Dr Alan Smith, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Forensic Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF
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Abstract

Background

Little is known about men who commit sex offences in the context of psychosis.

Aims

To examine the relationship of illness and psychotic symptoms to sex offending in men with schizophrenia.

Method

A search of Home Office records was completed for all 84 male restricted hospital order in-patients with schizophrenia, resident in any hospital in England and Wales during May 1997, with an index conviction for a contact sex offence against a woman.

Results

At the time of their index offences 80 men were psychotic and half of them had delusions or hallucinations related to the offences. Specific delusional or hallucinatory drive was pertinent in only 18 men but the majority of men committed their first sex offence after onset of schizophrenia. Exclusive sex offending was uncommon.

Conclusions

When a man with schizophrenia commits a serious sex offence the illness is, more commonly than not, relevant to that offence even though a direct symptom relationship may be relatively unusual.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 174 , Issue 3 , March 1999 , pp. 233 - 237
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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Footnotes

Declaration of interest

No external funding. No conflict of interest.

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