Psychosis, Drug Addiction Common Among Female Sexual Offenders

May 2008

A Swedish study of sex offenders shows that women who commit sexual crimes are highly likely to have experienced psychiatric illness or substance addiction.

Studying 93 women convicted for sexual offenses, researchers at the Karolinska Institutes's Centre for Violence Prevention found that 37 percent had been treated at a psychiatric clinic and eight percent had been diagnosed with a psychotic disorder.

Compared with13,000 women incarcerated for non-sexual crimes, rates of psychosis were 16 times higher and rates drug addiction were 23 times higher.

In contrast, men who commit sexual offenses generally suffer fewer mental health problems than those who commit other types of crimes. ..more.. by FindCounseling.com


Abstract
Women commit 4–5% of all sexual crimes, but there is considerable uncertainty about associations with psychosis and substance abuse. We examined the prevalence of psychiatric hospitalization, psychotic disorders, and substance abuse in a nationwide sample of female sexual offenders. We obtained data from Swedish national registers for criminal convictions, hospital discharge diagnoses, and demographic and socioeconomic factors between 1988 and 2000, and merged them using unique identifiers. Convicted female sexual offenders (n = 93) were compared with all females convicted of non-sexual violent offences (n = 13,452) and a random sample of general population women (n = 20,597). Over 13 years, 36.6% of female sexual offenders had been admitted to psychiatric hospital and 7.5% been discharged with a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder. Compared to non-sexual violent offenders, there were no significant differences in the proportion diagnosed with psychosis or substance abuse. Compared to women in the general population, however, there was a significantly increased risk in sex offenders of psychiatric hospitalization (age-adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 15.4; 95% CI: 10.0–23.7), being diagnosed with a psychotic disorder (AOR = 16.2; 95% CI: 7.2–36.4), and with substance use disorders (AOR = 22.6; 95% CI: 13.0–39.1). We conclude that the prevalence of psychotic and substance use disorders was not different between sexual offenders and other violent offenders, suggesting non-specificity of sexual offending in women. Nevertheless, substantially increased prevalences of psychiatric disorder, underline the importance of screening and assessment of female sexual and other violent offenders. ..more.. by Seena Fazel1, Gabrielle Sjöstedt, Martin Grann and Niklas Långström