A Forensic Psychiatric Study for Substance-Related Offenders.

Lee, Gyung Sook; Lee, Hyuk; Lee, Mi Kyung; Choi, Sang Sub; Lee, Jung Hwa

Original article

Korean Journal of Legal Medicine 2001;25(2):6-11.
Published online October 31, 2001.

A Forensic Psychiatric Study for Substance-Related Offenders.

Gyung Sook Lee, Hyuk Lee, Mi Kyung Lee, Sang Sub Choi, Jung Hwa Lee

¹National Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, Ministry of Justice.
²Hanil Hospital.

Abstract

OBJECT: This study examined the demographic characteristics, abused substance types, comorbid psychiatric diagnosis and associated crimes of substance-related offenders. METHOD: We surveyed 205 offenders of substance-related crime from court. RESULT: Substance-related offenders were all men and most of them were unemployed, living alone in the major city and mean age was 27.9+/-5.77years. 78.5% frequently abused inhalants like adhesives and 17.1% abused the methamphetamine. They violated the 1 or more times and the classification of crimes was violence, rape and rape-injury, larceny, arson. Substance-related offenders had comorbid psychiatric disorder ; 26 of them had personality disorder, 23 had mood disorder and 13 had psychotic disorder. Mean hospital day was 14.8+/-6.55 months. CONCLUSION: Substance-related offenders were young single men without a job living major city. They had comorbid psychiatric disorder and high risk to commit crime.

Key Words: Substance-related offender, comorbid psychiatric disorder, crime