NCJ Number
185150
Editor(s)
Andrew E. Skodol M.D.
Date Published
1998
Length
174 pages
Annotation
This book summarizes contemporary thinking and research on the biopsychosocial correlates of violent crime in America, with each of the five chapters written by different authors.
Abstract
The first chapter reviews studies on the relationship of violence to Axis I mental disorders since 1990. It is organized by method of sample selection: epidemiologic samples designed to represent an entire community or society; samples of persons charged with or convicted of violent crimes; and samples of persons with mental disorders. The second chapter argues for the importance not only of antisocial personality disorder but also of other personality psychopathology in understanding some of society's most horrific murderers; this includes psychopathy, narcissism, sadism, and borderline psychopathology. The third chapter presents a typology of motivation for violent crime and a study that links Axis I and Axis II disorders to the motivations for violent crime. The research was conducted in the prisons and maximum-security hospitals in the United Kingdom. The fourth chapter links psychopathology and violent, aggressive behavior at the neurobiological level. The final chapter traces the history of attempting to deal with the relationship of crime and mental disorder. It also considers the implication for the law if violent crime can be shown to be clearly linked to mental disorder and if biological factors at the individual level can be shown to be a cause of violent behavior. Chapter references and a subject index