Assessment of the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of children and adolescents who are sent to an affiliated university hospital for forensic psychiatric examination

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the socio-demographic data, the reason and frequency of forensic application, and the presence of additional mental disorders in children and adolescents who applied for a forensic psychiatric examination to an affiliated university hospital. Pediatric psychiatry files of the patients who applied to Abant Ýzzet Baysal Mental Health and Diseases Policlinic outpatient clinic of Bolu Abant Ýzzet Baysal University between 2016-2018 were screened retrospectively and the data were evaluated in SPSS 22.0. The mean age of 117 patients included in the study was 14.86 ± 3.37, 54(46.2%) were female and 63(53.8%) were male. The most common reason for being sent is the claims within the scope of evaluation and health measures in terms of perceiving the legal meaning and consequences of the crimes committed with 33 applications. There was a statistically significant difference between males and females in terms of forensic assessment. At least one psychiatric diagnosis was made in 69.1% of the cases and the most common diagnosis was mental retardation. Dissemination of regional studies of forensic assessment and identification of differences by the province may contribute to the more efficient and functional use of resources. In addition to contributing to the improvement programs to be made after forensic assessments, pre-crime is also of value in terms of identifying the causes of crime, especially in children and adolescents.