Association between criminality and psychosis: a retrospective study of 3984 expert psychiatric evaluations.

This study reports on 3984 expert psychiatric evaluations in eastern Algeria over a period of 23 years. Factors associated with different types of crimes or misdemeanors, particularly those associated with a diagnosis of psychosis in the case of a homicide or attempted homicide committed by male subjects are described. Among the 1007 cases of homicide and attempted homicide, the diagnosis of psychosis was made 200 times (19.9%). Psychotic subjects were older, more likely to have a previous psychiatric history, less likely to come from very large families, and less likely to have been raised by both their parents.