Female psychopathy: A descriptive national study of socially dangerous female NGRI offenders

Journal of Forensic Sciences

Felthous

Mandarelli

et al. 2020

Self Cite

The present study was designed to compare gender differences in psychiatric diagnosis with the dimension of psychopathy in women and men who had attempted or committed homicide. The study samples consisted of 39 homicidal females and 48 homicidal males who were confined in one of Italy’s REMS or prison facilities in two southern provinces of Italy (Puglia and Basilicata). Assessment instruments included the SCID‐5, the PID‐5 IRF, and the PCL‐R. Each gender group was stratified according to the level of criminal responsibility for the homicidal offense (full, partial, absent), and after assessments, according to the degree of the psychopathic dimension. There were clear gender differences in homicidal individuals. Female offenders were less likely to have had a record of criminal charges/convictions or imprisonment, and their homicides were more often intrafamilial, victimizing especially of their children, whereas males targeted intimate partners and extrafamilial victims. In the entire group, there was an inverse relationship between the level of psychopathy and the personality disorder on one side, and the psychotic disturbance on the other. Factor 2 (lifestyle/antisocial dimension) of the PCL‐R was higher among the homicidal males, whereas females tended to score higher on Factor 1 (the interpersonal/affective dimension). Finally, if the psychopathic dimension is a qualifier for antisocial personality disorder, as indicated in DSM‐5, this appears to be less true for females who tend to have other personality disorders.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Women and Men who Committed Murder: Male/Female Psychopathic Homicides

Journal of Forensic Sciences

Felthous

Mandarelli

et al. 2020

Self Cite

“…The degree of expression of the psychopathic dimension was determined by dividing the sample into three different groups according to the total PCL‐R scores obtained: (1) PCL‐R ≥ 25; (2) PCL‐R between 20 and 24; and (3) PCL‐R ≤ 19. This tripartite stratification was used in two of our recent studies on psychopathy (Carabellese et al, in press a; Carabellese et al, in press b) and a similar stratification was used by Ogloff (). Finally, all the data obtained were statistically analyzed using the STATA MP 13.3 software.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, we confirmed a correlation between psychopathy and borderline personality disorder in women (Verona, Sprague, & Javdani, ; Verona & Vitale, ). During the third phase (Carabellese et al, in press b), which continued even after the closure of Italy's maximum security hospital for women [the Ospedali Psichiatrici Giudiziari (OPG – high‐security hospitals) of Castigione delle Stiviere] in 2015 and its conversion to a Poli‐REMS (Carabellese & Felthous, ), we compared the group of OPG patients with a sample of 49 convicted women, selected from among the 102 female prisoners in all the penitentiaries in Puglia (Trani, Lecce, Taranto and Foggia) from October 2016 to March 2017. During this phase, we compared the group of female murderers suffering from psychopathology with absent and partial criminal responsibility hospitalized in the OPG of Castiglione delle Stiviere with a sample of 10 female murderers from among the 102 female prisoners in all the penitentiaries in Puglia (Trani, Lecce, Taranto and Foggia) from October 2016 to March 2017.…”

Section: Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychopathy in Italian female murderers

Behavioral Sci & The Law

Felthous

Mandarelli

et al. 2019

Self Cite

Over the years, the number of homicides in Italy has progressively decreased, ultimately becoming one of the lowest rates in Europe (357 = 0.7 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2017, according to ISTAT). The number of homicides committed by women was about 9% of the total number of homicides during our study period. The percentage has increased in recent years because the total number of homicides has decreased without a proportionate decrease in the number of female homicides. Indeed, murder is an unusual type of crime for a woman and is often associated with a mental disorder, so when a woman committed a homicide, a psychiatric assessment was often performed. A forensic psychiatry expert was assigned to investigate the offender's psychopathology and mental state at the time of the offense. The root causes of the crime remained unexplained, however, due to the lack of a psychiatric precedent to justify this kind of assessment. The role of psychopathy in homicide has seldom been studied in female offenders, even though psychopathy has an important role in violent crimes. The investigators examined, clinically and historically, a sample of women who committed murder with different levels of criminal responsibility (female homicide offenders found not guilty by reason of insanity, having partial criminal responsibility, and convicted as criminally responsible and sentenced to prison) to identify the prevalence of the psychopathic dimension and its possible role in this sample. Prevalence and degree of psychopathic traits were examined in these female offenders using the Psychopathy Checklist‐Revised. This study showed that females who had committed homicide were likely to suffer from mental illness; most of the homicidal acts were committed impulsively; and most female homicides occurred within the family, especially among women who were psychotic, but less so if they were psychopathic. Psychopathy tended to co‐occur more with personality disorders than with psychotic psychopathology. Psychopathy was more evident among female homicide offenders who had been abused or traumatized. Psychopathic women who killed had high factor F1 scores and low antisocial component of factor F2.

“…With respect to the vulnerability to traumatic features, clinical and gender differences should be taken into account, with inpatients having borderline personality disorder and women respectively being more predisposed to develop such type of symptoms (Bohle and de Vogel, 2017;Carabellese et al 2018;Carabellese et al 2019aCarabellese et al , 2019bCarabellese et al 2020;Sinai et al 2018).…”

Section: The Impact Of the Covid-19 Pandemic In Italymentioning

confidence: 99%

Vulnerabilities of High-Security Forensic Psychiatry Residences in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative survey and a proposal for recovery and prevention

Pozza

Ferretti

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

Italy is the first European country severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic after the outbreak in Wuhan. In our healthcare context, the closing of forensic psychiatric hospitals in 2014 completed the long transition from a containment approach for offenders with severe mental disorders to a model oriented to recovery and community reintegration. High-Security Forensic Psychiatry Residences (REMS) were implemented by regional health authorities. Within these settings, inpatients with severe psychiatric disorders who committed a criminal offense, without criminal responsibility but still considered socially dangerous, are held, and treated. The current COVID-19 emergency represents a severe stressful event which has a potentially negative impact on the recovery process of the inpatients and on the work-related health of the psychiatric professionals. The present paper consists of two sections. In the first one, we discuss the organizational and clinical issues emerged in the forensic psychiatry system in Italy. We identify vulnerable groups and processes and suggest long-term prevention strategies at both clinical and organizational levels. Within the second section, we present the findings of a qualitative exploratory survey conducted in four different REMS immediately after the stop of the lockdown. Based on a qualitative approach, this survey explored the COVID-19 effects on mental health of REMS inpatients and healthcare workers. Thematic analysis showed five key themes: “Intervention and prevention strategies during the lockdown decision making”; “Inpatients’ reactions to the pandemic”; “Psychological reactions of the healthcare staff”; “Recovery process and relations with community mental health services”; “Lessons for the future learned from the COVID-19”.