Comparison of sociodemographic, clinical, and alexithymia characteristics of schizophrenia patients with and without criminal records

Abstract

The primary objective of our study is to delineate differences between individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia who have a criminal record and those diagnosed with schizophrenia without a criminal record in terms of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, levels of intelligence and insight, alexithymia, psychological symptoms, aggression, and impulsivity violence. In doing so, we aim to determine whether these findings serve as predictive indicators in the commission and prediction of criminally relevant actions in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. This study was conducted with patients aged 18–65 who were diagnosed with ‘schizophrenia’ according to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria and received outpatient follow-up and treatment. Our study consists of a total of 100 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, with 50 having a criminal record and 50 without. The results of the study demonstrated statistically significant differences between the forensic case and control groups in terms of gender, marital status, and educational status. Additionally, it was determined that there was a significant difference in the difficulty describing feelings between the forensic case and control groups. Statistically significant differences were obtained between the two groups in terms of BPAQ total score, the physical aggression subscale, and the anger subscale scores. There was also a statistically significant difference in terms of the BIS-11-SF total score, attention impulsivity, motor impulsivity, and non-planning subscales. Regression analysis indicated that gender, marital status, educational status, age of illness onset, difficulty in verbalizing emotions, overall aggression level, physical aggression, anger, overall impulsivity level, attention impulsivity, motor impulsivity, and inability to plan were associated with forensic behaviors in patients with schizophrenia. As a result, there is a need for studies that encompass larger and more diverse sample groups and patients from different regions. Additionally, these studies should incorporate scales and methods that comprehensively analyze both positive and negative symptoms.