Comparative analysis of the clinical and social characteristics of persons with organic mental disorders suffering from mental retardation who have repeatedly committed socially dangerous acts

BACKGROUND: The study of various characteristics of mentally ill persons suffering from mental disorders that influence the possibility of committing a repeated socially dangerous act. This has been one of the most urgent tasks of forensic psychiatry in recent years. The identification of such factors will significantly improve the secondary prevention of crime among the mentally ill.

AIM: The purpose of the study — a comparative analysis of clinical and social characteristics in patients with mental retardation and organic psychological disorders (hereinafter referred to as DIS) who have repeatedly committed socially dangerous acts (hereafter referred to as DIS) and the identification of factors specific to patients with mental retardation that contribute to the commission of repeated DIS. Design: comparative study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The comparative study included 65 patients diagnosed with mild and moderate mental retardation (who made up the main group A) and 45 patients with organic mental disorders (who made up the comparative group B) had repeatedly committed socially dangerous acts (OOD), who had been recognised as insane and who had undergone two or more periods of court-ordered compulsory medical treatment (hereafter referred to as MMMT) of various types. The study was carried out both in the form of a personal questionnaire and through a retrospective study of the patients' medical records. Correlation and comparative analysis were the main research methods used in the thesis.

RESULTS: A number of clinical and social characteristics such as: hereditary burden of exogenous diseases (r +0.58, p_i <0.05); single lifestyle (r +0.33, p_i <0.05); urban place of residence (r +0.21, p_i <0.05) increase the risk of repeated OOD, and are specific predictors for patients with mental retardation. A number of characteristics had a negative impact on the possibility of repeated OOD and negative correlations: the absence of any hereditary burden (r –0.44, p_i <0.05), the presence of severe endogenous heredity (r –0.35, p_i <0.05), living in rural areas (r –0.21, p_i <0.05), concomitant alcohol dependence (r –0.29, p_i <0.05).

CONCLUSION: The data obtained will form the basis for the development of practical recommendations for secondary forensic psychiatric prevention, specifically for this nosological group, as well as methods for predicting and preventing recurrent DIS.