Genetic Background of Extreme Violent Behavior

In developed countries, the majority of all violent crime is committed by a small group of antisocial recidivistic offenders, but no genes have been shown to contribute to recidivistic violent offending or severe violent behavior, such as homicide. 

Our results, from two independent cohorts of Finnish prisoners, revealed that a monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) low-activity genotype (contributing to low dopamine turnover rate) as well as the CDH13 gene (coding for neuronal membrane adhesion protein) are associated with extremely violent behavior (at least 10 committed homicides, attempted homicides or batteries). No substantial signal was observed for either MAOA or CDH13 among non-violent offenders, indicating that findings were specific for violent offending, and not largely attributable to substance abuse or antisocial personality disorder. 

These results indicate both low monoamine metabolism and neuronal membrane dysfunction as plausible factors in the etiology of extreme criminal violent behavior, and imply that at least about 5–10% of all severe violent crime in Finland is attributable to the aforementioned MAOA and CDH13 genotypes.

Below:  Age- and gender-adjusted odds ratios for low-activity MAOA genotype and CDH13 (rs11649622) as a function of the number of committed violent crimes. The number of individuals, allele frequencies and odds ratios are shown below. The number of control subjects was 1946 for MAOA and 1877 for CDH13 analysis.

Below:  Manhattan plot of extremely violent offenders GWAS. The highest cluster is seen in locus 16q23.3

Full article at:   http://goo.gl/Bbrucl

By:  J Tiihonen,^1,2,3,19 M-R Rautiainen,^3,19 HM Ollila,^3,4 E Repo-Tiihonen,² M Virkkunen,^5,6 A Palotie,^7,8,9,10,11 O Pietiläinen,³ K Kristiansson,³ M Joukamaa,¹² H Lauerma,^3,13,14 J Saarela,¹⁵ S Tyni,¹⁶ H Vartiainen,¹⁶ J Paananen,¹⁷D Goldman,¹⁸ and T Paunio^3,5,6

¹Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

²Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Eastern Finland, Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio, Finland

³National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland

⁴Stanford University Center for Sleep Sciences, Palo Alto, CA, USA

⁵Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Helsinki, Finland

⁶Department of Psychiatry, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

⁷Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, England

⁸Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

⁹Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA

¹⁰Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

¹¹Psychiatric & Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

¹²Social Psychiatry Unit, School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Finland

¹³Psychiatric Hospital for Prisoners, Turku, Finland

¹⁴University of Turku, Turku, Finland

¹⁵Finnish Genome Center, Helsinki, Finland

¹⁶The Criminal Sanctions Agency, Helsinki, Finland

¹⁷University of Eastern Finland, Bioinformatics Center, Kuopio, Finland

¹⁸Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Rockville, MD, USA

Correspondence: Professor J Tiihonen, Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Byggnad R5, Stockholm, S-171 76, Sweden or Professor T Paunio, National Institute for Health and Welfare, PO Box 30, FI-00271, Finland. Email: es.ik@nenohiit.iraj or ; Email:if.lht@oinuap.aniit

¹⁹These authors contributed equaliy to this work.

Mol Psychiatry. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 Mar 3. Mol Psychiatry. 2015 Jun; 20(6): 786–792.

  

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Therapists' Perceptions of Their Encounter with Sex Offenders

Despite the increasing interest in therapists' responses to their encounter with sex offenders, there is a lack of research on their subjective perceptions of this encounter and on their experience working with this client population. 

The study presented in this article is part of a larger qualitative research project conducted among 19 social workers (12 were women and 7 were men; their ages ranged from 30 to 66 years; 15 of them were Jewish and 4 were Arab). In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted to examine their attitudes toward and perceptions of their encounter with sex offenders. The questions related to the therapists' perceptions regarding motives for committing sex offenses, therapists' perceptions of sex offenders, therapists' perceptions of the victims of sex offenders, and therapists' perceptions of the nature of their professional role. In this article, emphasis is placed on the development and changes of the therapists' perceptions following that encounter. The following five major domains of perceptions were revealed in the study: Therapists' perceptions of the offenders' personal motives for committing sex offenses, therapists' perceptions of sex offenders, therapists' perceptions of the experience of victimization, the process of changing perceptions, and the nature of the therapists' role. 

The results are discussed in light of Ajzen's conceptualization of the process of acquiring beliefs. The limitations of the study as well as its implications for future research and for shaping the perceptions of therapists toward sex offenders are discussed.

Purchase full article at:   http://goo.gl/ztpjjy

By:  Elias H1, Haj-Yahia MM2.

• 1Ruppin Academic Center, Israel Zefat Academic College, Israel Haneenelias.a@gmail.com.
• 2The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
• Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2016 Feb 9. pii: 0306624X16629972.

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Arsonists and Violent Offenders Compared: Two Peas in a Pod?

Arsonists are considered a type of violent offender by some and a distinct group of offenders by others. Assuming the latter could be beneficial to offer tailor-made psychotherapeutic treatment to these offenders. 

The present study investigated whether arsonists (n = 55) and violent offenders (n = 41) are differentiable regarding several demographic and personal characteristics, and criminal career. 

Results indicated that arsonists were significantly more often diagnosed with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) Axis II disorder, and more socially isolated and lacking coping skills. 

Violent offenders, on the other hand, demonstrated more drug abuse/dependence, a younger age at the first manifestation of antisocial behavior, a more extensive criminal history and higher percentage of recidivism. 

In light of these results, it is conceivable that arsonists could benefit from a slightly different treatment approach, for example, with more attention to relational and emotion regulation skills.

Purchase full article at:   http://goo.gl/DFBqEM  

By:   Wilpert J¹, van Horn J², Eisenberg M².

¹De Forensische Zorgspecialisten [The Forensic Care Specialists], Utrecht, The Netherlands jwilpert@dfzs.nl.

²De Forensische Zorgspecialisten [The Forensic Care Specialists], Utrecht, The Netherlands. 

Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2015 Dec 31. pii: 0306624X15619165.

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The Effect of Gender on the Outcome of Forensic Psychiatric Assessment in Sweden: A Case Vignette Study

BACKGROUND:

Previous research suggests that female violent offenders at risk of a prison sentence are more likely than their male counterparts to be assessed as having mental health problems of a nature or degree that would lead to a court requirement for hospital treatment.

AIMS/HYPOTHESES:

To test the hypothesis that there is bias towards hospital disposal of female compared with male violent offenders with mental disorder.

METHODS:

In Sweden, the National Board of Forensic Medicine oversees all assessments of mental disorder for the criminal courts. Twenty-six Board appointed forensic psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers each independently assessed six case vignettes for fit with criteria for 'severe mental disorder', a prerequisite for hospital disposal from court. Each gender neutral vignette described a person who had been convicted of serious assault and had a major mental disorder. A gender was then assigned to each offender randomly within a block design, thus varying between sets. Participants were blind to the main aim of the study and the gender variation.

RESULTS:

There was no significant association between gender of the person assessed and judgement that s/he had a 'severe mental disorder'. An offender depicted as having mental retardation was more likely to be assessed as at high risk of criminal recidivism if portrayed as female, regardless of the sex, place of work or level of experience of the assessor.

CONCLUSION:

We found no evidence of gender bias in determining appropriateness of a hospital disposal of an offender with mental disorder. The difference in assessment of recidivism according to sex of the patient was only in relation to mental retardation; further research would be needed to able to interpret this. As researchers in other countries have reported gender bias in disposals from court, our findings may provide support for a centralised forensic psychiatric assessment board and formal, on-going training. 

Purchase full article at:   http://goo.gl/Z4Jygt

By:   Sygel K1, Sturup J1, Fors U2, Edberg H3, Gavazzeni J4, Howner K1, Persson M5, Kristiansson M6.

• 1National Board of Forensic Medicine and Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
• 2Stockholm University, Sweden.
• 3S:t Göran's Hospital and Forensic Psychiatry Care Stockholm, Sweden.
• 4Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
• 5Sundsvall Forensic Psychiatric Hospital and Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
• 6National Board of Forensic Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, and Stockholm University. 

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Long-Term Prevention of Criminality in Siblings of Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders: A 25-Year Follow-Up to a Randomized Clinical Trial of Multisystemic Therapy

OBJECTIVE:

Family-based treatment models that have shown effectiveness with juvenile offenders may also lead to reduced criminality in siblings of those offenders. However, the lasting effects of such treatments on siblings have not been evaluated. In the present study, the authors examined criminal outcomes for siblings of serious and violent juvenile offenders who had participated on average 25.0 years earlier in a clinical trial of multisystemic therapy (MST; Borduin et al., 1995).

METHOD:

Participants were 129 closest-in-age siblings of individuals who were originally randomized to MST or individual therapy (IT) during adolescence. Arrest and incarceration data were obtained in middle adulthood when siblings were on average 38.4 years old.

RESULTS:

Intent-to-treat analyses showed that arrest rates were significantly lower for siblings in the MST condition than in the IT condition (43.3% vs. 72.0%, respectively). In addition, siblings in the IT condition were about 3 times as likely to be convicted of a felony and more than twice as likely to be sentenced to incarceration and probation.

CONCLUSION:

The present study represents the longest follow-up to date of sibling participants in an MST clinical trial and demonstrates that the positive impact of an evidence-based treatment for serious and violent juvenile offenders can extend to other family members. Implications of the authors' findings for policymakers and service providers are discussed.

Purchase full article at:  http://goo.gl/XLj93V

By:   Wagner DV1, Borduin CM1, Sawyer AM1, Dopp AR1.

• 1Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri. 

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Exploring Patterns of Offending by Juvenile Offenders in Australia: What Is the Evidence for a Specialist Violent Offender?

The question of whether there are offenders who specialise in violent offences is one that has been of considerable interest to life course developmental criminology as well as policy makers and the public. 

The current study investigated this using an administrative dataset of juvenile offenders from New South Wales, Australia. Specifically, it asked whether offenders convicted of a serious violent offence differed in their demographic, criminal history and reoffending profiles and whether there were further differences in these factors across gender and cultural identity. 

Overall, the findings indicated that violence is more likely to occur in the context of an extensive criminal career. Indigenous male individuals were the most frequent and chronic offenders in the sample. The policy and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

Table 5

Descriptive statistics, ‘persistently’ violent offenders compared to non-violent offenders

	Non-violent (N = 1369)	Persistently violent offender (N = 69)	Pvalue	Effect size
Indigenous status	556 (40.6 %)	26 (37.7 %)	0.628	0.01
Gender (male)	1369 (86 %)	58 (84 %)	0.617	0.01
Age	16.46 (1.58)	16.49 (1.13)	0.450	<0.01
Socio-economic disadvantage	2.47 (1.00)	2.58 (1.16)	0.181	0.05
Remoteness index	2.02 (1.05)	1.54 (0.87)	0.001	0.19
Prior conviction	2.14 (1.83)	3.03 (2.86)	0.001	0.20
Age at first offence	15.13 (1.71)	14.88 (1.75)	0.112	0.06
Prior imprisonment	110 (8.0 %)	9 (13 %)	0.141	0.04
Prior suspended sentence	73 (5.30 %)	6 (8.7 %)	0.232	0.03
Prior breach offence	179 (13.1 %)	15 (21.7 %)	0.040	0.05
Prior juvenile offence	1245 (91 %)	69 (100 %)	0.009	0.07

For the categorical variables, differences were tested using Χ 2 and t tests were used to compare means of the continuous variables

Full article at:  http://goo.gl/k5YmZK

By:  Andrew McGrath 

 

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