Armiya'u Aishatu Yusha'u, Ogunwale Adegboyega, Bamidele Lubuola Issa, Adole Oloche, Umar Musa Usman
Forensic Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria.
Forensic Unit, Department of Clinical Services, Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Nigeria.
Crim Behav Ment Health. 2020 Oct;30(5):240-255. doi: 10.1002/cbm.2161. Epub 2020 Jul 26.
Most studies of prisoners, the nature of their offending and any related characteristics have been conducted in rich Western countries. In Nigeria, prison conditions differ in many important respects, key among them that prisoners share large communal spaces much of the time-up to 50 men sleeping in the same space as well as spending the day together. Our aim was to compare levels of impulsivity, aggression and suicide-related behaviours between prisoners in one prison in Nigeria who had committed a homicide and those who had not, allowing for socio-demographic factors. A case-control study design was employed with 102 homicide and an equal number of non-homicide offenders. Each participant was interviewed using the Abbreviated Barratt Impulsiveness Scale for impulsivity, the Modified Overt Aggression Scale for aggression, the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview (Module C) for suicide-related behaviours, and a questionnaire for ascertaining socio-demographic characteristics. On bivariate analysis, motor impulsivity was higher among homicide offenders (p = .014) while non-planning was higher among non-homicide offenders (p = .006), but this relationship was affected by demographic variables. Physical aggression levels did not distinguish the two groups, but homicide offenders were less likely to record property-directed and auto-aggressive behaviours (p < .05). By contrast, on average, scores for suicide-related behaviours were lower among the homicide offenders (p = .001), with non-homicide offenders showing a mean score in the high-risk category (13.25; SD, 1.25). As motor impulsivity significantly differentiated the groups, this may be an important measure to add to any risk assessment battery when there are concerns about homicidal behaviours. In this sample, history of interpersonal aggression did not distinguish the groups. People with indications of self-harm or suicide-related behaviours may be at less risk of violence to others, but care should be taken in interpreting this finding as it is not entirely consistent with other findings.
大多数关于囚犯、其犯罪性质及任何相关特征的研究都是在富裕的西方国家进行的。在尼日利亚，监狱状况在许多重要方面存在差异，其中关键的一点是，囚犯大部分时间都共用较大的公共空间——多达50名男子睡在同一空间，并且一整天都待在一起。我们的目的是比较尼日利亚一所监狱中犯有杀人罪的囚犯和未犯杀人罪的囚犯在冲动性、攻击性和自杀相关行为方面的水平，并考虑社会人口学因素。采用病例对照研究设计，选取102名犯有杀人罪的囚犯和数量相等的非杀人罪罪犯。使用简化版巴雷特冲动性量表评估冲动性，使用修订版公开攻击性量表评估攻击性，使用MINI国际神经精神访谈（C模块）评估自杀相关行为，并使用一份问卷确定社会人口学特征。在双变量分析中，杀人罪罪犯的运动冲动性较高（p = 0.014），而非杀人罪罪犯的非计划性较高（p = 0.006），但这种关系受到人口统计学变量的影响。身体攻击水平并未区分这两组，但杀人罪罪犯记录财产指向性和自我攻击性的行为的可能性较小（p < 0.05）。相比之下，平均而言，杀人罪罪犯的自杀相关行为得分较低（p = 0.001），非杀人罪罪犯的平均得分处于高风险类别（13.25；标准差，1.25）。由于运动冲动性显著区分了这两组，当担心有杀人行为时，这可能是任何风险评估组合中要增加的一项重要指标。在这个样本中，人际攻击史并未区分这两组。有自我伤害或自杀相关行为迹象的人对他人实施暴力的风险可能较小，但在解释这一发现时应谨慎，因为它与其他发现并不完全一致。
