Barnett W, Richter P, Sigmund D, Spitzer M
Department of Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
J Forensic Sci. 1997 Sep;42(5):879-83.
The purpose of this study was to explore dangerousness and fire setting recidivism of mentally disordered firesetters in comparison with mentally healthy arsonists. In Germany, all trials are registered centrally by the Federal Central Register. The records of this Register for the three year period from 1983 until 1985 were used in this follow-up study of arsonists to identify three samples of subjects: (1) All persons convicted of arson who have been found not guilty by reasons of insanity (n = 186), (2) all person convicted of arson who have been found guilty of diminished responsibility (n = 97), and (3) a random selection from all persons convicted of arson who have had no psychiatric examination in their trial (n = 187). The follow-up ended in 1994, providing a period of, on average, ten years. Mentally disordered arsonists differed from non-mentally disordered arsonists in the following ways: They were more likely, first, to have a history of arson before 1983, and secondly, to be convicted of arson again (11% relapse compared to 4%). Mentally disordered arsonists had fewer registrations of common offenses, such as theft as well as traffic violations and alcohol-related offenses. Based on the present sample, mentally disordered firesetters have a higher rate of recurrence of firesetting than non-mentally disordered firesetters and commit fewer common offenses other than firesetting.
本研究的目的是探讨患有精神障碍的纵火者与精神健康的纵火者相比的危险性及纵火再犯情况。在德国，所有审判都由联邦中央登记处集中登记。在这项纵火者随访研究中，使用了该登记处1983年至1985年这三年期间的记录，以确定三组研究对象：（1）所有因精神错乱被判无罪的纵火罪罪犯（n = 186），（2）所有因责任能力减弱被判有罪的纵火罪罪犯（n = 97），以及（3）从所有在审判中未接受精神病检查的纵火罪罪犯中随机抽取的样本（n = 187）。随访于1994年结束，平均为期十年。患有精神障碍的纵火者与未患有精神障碍的纵火者在以下方面存在差异：首先，他们更有可能在1983年之前有纵火史；其次，再次被判纵火罪的可能性更大（复发率为11%，而未患精神障碍的纵火者复发率为4%）。患有精神障碍的纵火者其他常见犯罪（如盗窃、交通违法及与酒精相关的犯罪）的登记数量较少。基于当前样本，患有精神障碍的纵火者比未患有精神障碍的纵火者纵火复发率更高，且除纵火外犯下的其他常见罪行更少。
