NCJ Number
87366
Journal
Indian Journal of Criminology Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1983) Pages: 28-32
Date Published
1983
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This Indian study of 105 offenders referred for mental health services shows that most were diagnosed as having schizophrenia (44.76 percent), only 6 were females, and murder was the most frequent offense (40 percent).
Abstract
Study data were from the case files of patients referred by the courts to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences from 1971 to 1980. Cases were diagnosed from the International Classification of Diseases. Schizophrenia comprised the largest proportion of cases (44.76 percent), followed by 16 cases (15.35 percent) of epileptic psychosis and 12 cases of mania (11.43 percent). Murder was the largest category of offenses (40 percent), followed by 29 (28 percent) miscellaneous cases and 25 cases (23.3 percent) of assault. Among the 42 murders, schizophrenia accounted for 23, epilepsy for 6, postepileptic confusion for 4, chronic epileptic psychosis for 2, and mental retardation with psychosis for 5. In Parasuram's study (1931), schizophrenia accounted for about 43 percent of offenders' mental illness, and Somasundaram (1960), who analyzed 44 cases, reported that schizophrenia comprised the commonest diagnostic category. Jha (1971) also reported schizophrenia as the most frequent diagnosis among criminal psychotics. Gould's study (1958) from the west showed 50 percent of his cases to be schizophrenics. Tabular data and nine references are provided.