Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Apr 27:13:843730.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.843730. eCollection 2022.

The Prevalence of PTSD in a Forensic Psychiatric Setting: The Impact of Traumatic Lifetime Experiences

Valeria Bianchini  1   2 , Giovanna Paoletti  3 , Roberta Ortenzi  3   4 , Brunella Lagrotteria  2   3   5 , Rita Roncone  1 , Vincenza Cofini  1 , Giuseppe Nicolò  2   3   6
Affiliations

The Prevalence of PTSD in a Forensic Psychiatric Setting: The Impact of Traumatic Lifetime Experiences

Valeria Bianchini et al. Front Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Several studies have identified traumatic history among forensic patients and its association with criminal behaviors and psychiatric diagnoses. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly prevalent in forensic settings causing a serious deterioration of the primary psychiatric disorder.

Aims: Our study aims to evaluate the prevalence of PTSD and the role of traumatic experiences and abuse in the development of severe psychiatric disorders in a sample of psychiatric offenders.

Methods: Fifty-three patients admitted in Italian high intensity therapeutic facilities-the Residenze per l'Esecuzione delle Misure di Sicurezza (REMS)-were evaluated with the Trauma Experience Checklist (TEC) and the Millon Clinical Multiaxal Inventory (MCMI-III) to study lifetime traumatic memories and general psychopathology, respectively.

Results: Preliminary findings show that about 41% (N = 22) of psychiatric offenders were affected by PTSD, often not due to a single episode but to multiple lifetime traumas. Therefore, lifetime traumatic experiences and specifically sexual abuse are significant risk factors for the development of a personality disorder, which is present in the 38% (N = 20) of the sample.

Conclusions: The high PTSD prevalence and the strong association found between trauma and abuse with the development of a personality disorder emphasizes the importance of an early evaluation and intervention on traumatic experiences in this difficult population of psychiatric patients; in fact, the treatment of psychiatric offenders is actually vague and devoid of scientific evidence. Our results open up the perspective on the use of known and specific interventions for trauma, such as EMDR and Mindfulness.

Keywords: PTSD; forensic; offender; personality disorders; trauma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

References

    1. Spidel A, Lecomte T, Greaves C, Sahlstrom K, Yuille JC. Early psychosis and aggression: predictors and prevalence of violent behaviour amongst individuals with early onset psychosis. Int J Law Psychiatry. (2010) 33:171–6. 10.1016/j.ijlp.2010.03.007 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mueser KT, Lu W, Rosenberg SD, Wolfe R. The trauma of psychosis: posttraumatic stress disorder and recent onset psychosis. Schizophr Res. (2010) 116:217–27. 10.1016/j.schres.2009.10.025 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sin J, Spain D, Furuta M, Murrells T, Norman I. Psychological interventions for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in people with severe mental illness. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. (2017) 1:CD011464. 10.1002/14651858.CD011464.pub2 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Grubaugh AL, Zinzow HM, Paul L, Egede LE, Frueh BC. Trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder in adults with severe mental illness: a critical review. Clin Psychol Rev. (2011) 31:883–99. 10.1016/j.cpr.2011.04.003 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Arlington: American Psychiatric Association; (2013).

LinkOut - more resources