Use of posttraumatic stress disorder to support an insanity defense.
Use of posttraumatic stress disorder to support an insanity defense.
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利用创伤后应激障碍来支持精神错乱防御。
DOI：
10.1176/ajp.150.2.229
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发表时间：
1993
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Steadman,HJ
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Appelbaum,PS;Jick,RZ;Grisso,T;Givelber,D;Silver,E;Steadman,HJ
目的研究在法律制度中经常滥用创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）诊断作为精神错乱无罪辩护的基础的指控。方法调查的数据来自于一项研究，该研究从8个州49个县的法庭记录中收集了精神失常的请求。研究人员将28名精神错乱辩护被告的数据与8135名精神错乱辩护被告的数据进行了比较，这些被告在审判前或审判后被诊断为创伤后应激障碍。结果被诊断为创伤后应激障碍的被告的神志不清抗辩仅占案件的0.3%。两组在人口学变量、精神病史、犯罪前科或当前指控方面几乎没有显著差异。患有创伤后应激障碍的被告更有可能已婚，更不可能在青少年时期被逮捕，更不可能在审判后被拘留。与先前表达的担忧相反，在本研究中，PTSD很少与精神错乱辩护相关。在基于创伤后应激障碍的请求被使用的案例中，它们并不比基于其他诊断的请求更有可能成功。与创伤后应激障碍相关的精神错乱辩护的被告与其他精神错乱被告的辩护几乎没有区别，这与人们对创伤后应激障碍驱使的人犯罪的刻板印象相矛盾。这些数据并不支持人们对精神错乱辩护中普遍滥用PTSD诊断的担忧。
ObjectiveThe authors examine the allegation that the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is frequently abused in the legal system as the basis for a defense of not guilty by reason of insanity.MethodData for the investigation were drawn from a study of insanity pleas gathered from court records in 49 counties in eight states. Data on the 28 insanity plea defendants for whom PTSD was diagnosed before or immediately after trial were compared with data on 8,135 defendants whose insanity pleas were based on other diagnoses.ResultsInsanity pleas by defendants with diagnoses of PTSD constituted only 0.3% of the cases. There were few significant differences between the two groups on demographic variables, psychiatric histories, previous involvement in crime, or current charges. The defendants with PTSD were more likely to have been married, less likely to have been arrested as juveniles, and less likely to have been detained after trial.ConclusionsContrary to previously expressed concerns, PTSD was infrequently associated with an insanity defense in the cases in this study. In the cases in which pleas based on PTSD were used, they were no more likely to succeed than pleas based on any other diagnosis. Defendants with PTSD-related insanity defenses differed little from other insanity defendants, contradicting the stereotype of the person who is driven by PTSD to commit crimes. The data do not support fears of widespread misuse of the diagnosis of PTSD in connection with the insanity defense.