NCJ Number
195250
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 47 Issue: 2 Dated: March 2002 Pages: 305-312
Date Published
2002
Length
8 pages
Annotation
The current study compared the psychological profiles of a nonrandom sample of 18 glossolalists with 130 non-glossolalists admitted to a maximum-security forensic hospital.
Abstract
"Glossolalia," from the Greek (original language of the New Testament) for "tongue" or "language" and to "speak," is colloquially known as "speaking in tongues" and in Western society is commonly associated with the Pentecostal religion. Data collected on each patient included age, race, sex, marital status, and diagnoses (from Axes I and II). Commitment type and alleged crime were also recorded. The crime was then analyzed to determine whether there was any religious theme. Evidence was obtained from the perpetrator's recollection of the event, police reports, and from others who observed the crime. The location of the crime and weapons used were also considered. Dreams of a religious theme, which seemed to influence the behavior, were noted. The religious motivation for most of the crimes was evident from a combination of the aforementioned characteristics. The crime was then analyzed in the same way to determine motivation and the role of sex. A sexual motivation was determined when the perpetrator exhibited hallucinations, delusions, and fantasies that caused the perpetrator to feel sexually victimized, commonly in a homosexual context driven by fear or paranoia. The glossolalic mentally disordered offender exhibited a predominance of diagnoses in the manic spectrum and was typically psychotic. The delusions, hallucinations, and crimes were predominately of a religious and sexual nature. Glossolalist perpetrators tended to be female. This study includes a review of the extant research on glossolalia in both normal and clinical samples, and forensic implications are discussed. 27 references