Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College London, UK.
Med Sci Law. 2021 Jan;61(1):44-54. doi: 10.1177/0025802420949069. Epub 2020 Aug 17.
Being wrongfully accused of criminal offences can lead to serious negative consequences to those wrongfully accused and their families. However, there is little research on the psychological and psychosocial impacts of wrongful accusations. We conducted a systematic literature review to collate the existing literature, searching four electronic literature databases and reference lists of relevant articles. Data were extracted from 20 relevant papers, and thematic analysis was conducted on the data. Eight main themes were identified: loss of identity; stigma; psychological and physical health; relationships with others; attitudes towards the justice system; impact on finances and employment; traumatic experiences in custody; and adjustment difficulties. The psychological consequences of wrongful accusations appear to affect the lives of those accused seriously, even after exoneration or overturning of convictions. Strategies for improving public perception of wrongful convictions should be explored, and specific mental-health systems should be established to support those who are wrongfully accused.
被错误指控犯罪会给被错误指控者及其家人带来严重的负面后果。然而，关于错误指控的心理和社会心理影响的研究甚少。我们进行了系统的文献综述，以整理现有文献，检索了四个电子文献数据库和相关文章的参考文献列表。从 20 篇相关论文中提取数据，并对数据进行主题分析。确定了八个主要主题：身份丧失；污名化；心理和身体健康；与他人的关系；对司法系统的态度；对财务和就业的影响；拘留期间的创伤经历；和适应困难。错误指控的心理后果似乎严重影响了被指控者的生活，即使在无罪释放或推翻定罪之后也是如此。应探索改善公众对错误定罪看法的策略，并应建立特定的心理健康系统来支持那些被错误指控的人。
