Sparr L F, Atkinson R M
Am J Psychiatry. 1986 May;143(5):608-13. doi: 10.1176/ajp.143.5.608.
A growing awareness of posttraumatic stress disorder has led to recent use of the disorder as a legal defense against criminal responsibility for both violent and nonviolent crimes. Diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder is difficult because the symptoms are mostly subjective, often nonspecific, usually well publicized, and, therefore, relatively easy to imitate. Accurate psychiatric testimony in such cases requires diligent searching for collateral sources of information. The authors argue that the insanity defense is appropriate only in the rare instance that a dissociative episode related to posttraumatic stress disorder directly leads to criminal activity.
对创伤后应激障碍的认识不断提高，导致近来该障碍被用作针对暴力和非暴力犯罪刑事责任的一种法律抗辩。创伤后应激障碍的诊断很困难，因为症状大多是主观的，往往不具特异性，通常广为人知，因此相对容易模仿。在此类案件中，准确的精神病学证词需要认真寻找旁证信息来源。作者认为，只有在与创伤后应激障碍相关的分离性发作直接导致犯罪活动这种罕见情况下，精神错乱抗辩才适用。
