Table 3.
Psychopathology among convicted homicide offenders
| Study | Data source and timeframe | Population | N | Diagnoses represented in study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fazel & Grann (2004) [8]a | Sweden state crime register 1988–2011, 14-year timeframe | Convicted homicide offenders, 91.7% male | 2005 | Substance use disorder (19.7%) |
| Personality disorder (11.3%) | ||||
| Schizophrenia (8.9%) | ||||
| Other psychotic disorder (6.5%) | ||||
| Mood disorder (4.8%) | ||||
| Anxiety disorder (1.4%) | ||||
| Adjustment disorder (2.8%) | ||||
| Drug-induced or organic psychosis (2.4%) | ||||
| Intellectual disability (0.6%) | ||||
| PTSD (0.5%) | ||||
| Other axis I disorder (11.9%) | ||||
| No diagnosis (8%) | ||||
| Flynn et al. (2011) [9]a | UK and Wales National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness (NCI), 1997–2004, 8-year timeframe | Convicted homicide offenders, 90% male | 4752 | Substance use disorder (8.22%) |
| Personality disorder (6.71%) | ||||
| Mood disorder (6.32%) | ||||
| Schizophrenia (5.8%) | ||||
| No diagnosis (68.33%) | ||||
| Rodway et al. (2014) [13] a | UK and Wales National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness (NCI), 2003–2005, 3-year timeframe | Convicted homicide offenders, 90% male | 28 | Schizophrenia or delusional disorder (50%) |
| Personality disorder (21%) | ||||
| Substance use disorder (15%) | ||||
| Mood disorder (4%) | ||||
| No diagnosis (10%) | ||||
| Simpson et al. (2004) [14] a | Homicide Monitoring Database of the New Zealand Police/Law Enforcement System, New Zealand, 1970–2000, 30-year timeframe | Convicted homicide offenders, 68% male | 1498 | Schizophrenia (3.67%) |
| Other psychotic disorder (1.27%) | ||||
| Mood disorder (1.2%) | ||||
| Personality disorder (0.73%) | ||||
| Substance use disorder (0.67%) | ||||
| Neurocognitive disorder (0.60%) | ||||
| Intellectual disability (0.60%) | ||||
| No diagnosis (91.3%) | ||||
| Wilcox (1985) [27]a | Contra Costa County, California Coroner’s Office (US), 1978–1980, 3-year timeframe | Convicted homicide offenders, gender demographics N/A | 71 | Antisocial personality disorder (32.4%) |
| Substance use disorder (19.7%) | ||||
| Schizophrenia (9.85%) | ||||
| Neurocognitive disorder (2.82%) | ||||
| Adjustment disorder (1.41%) | ||||
| Substance-induced psychotic disorder (1.41%) | ||||
| Substance-induced psychotic disorder (1.41%) | ||||
| Other personality disorder (1.41%) | ||||
| No diagnosis (31%) |
aArrest records