Criminal behaviour in female schizophrenic inpatients

Abstract

As there is a scarcity of studies devoted specifically to the criminal behaviour of female schizophrenic patients the present study was undertaken. First, a group of 146 consecutive female inpatients with DSM-IV schizophrenia was compared with regard to their criminal behaviour with both the comparison group of 432 female inpatients all grouped together and with subgroups divided by diagnosis. Second, schizophrenic patients with and without criminal record were compared with each other. 12% of the female schizophrenic inpatients were found to have a criminal record; similar to rates found in patients of other diagnostic categories, whereas a significant higher rate was found in patients with substance use disorder (55%). Younger, foreign born, single schizophrenic women with a history of foster home stays and irregular hospital discharges were found to have a higher probability to become criminally involved.