RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Psychopathology and personality in juvenile sexual homicide offenders
JF Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
JO J Am Acad Psychiatry Law
FD American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
SP 497
OP 508
VO 25
IS 4
A1 WC Myers
A1 R Blashfield
YR 1997
UL http://jaapl.org/content/25/4/497.abstract
AB This project describes the psychopathology and personality findings in 14 juveniles who committed sexual homicide. These incarcerated youth were assessed using a structured interview, a personality assessment instrument, correctional files review, and an author-designed clinical interview. Nearly all of these youth met DSM-III-R conduct disorder criteria at the time of the crime. The presence of personality disorders and moderately high psychopathy scores at follow-up were common. Two-thirds of these youth reported the presence of violent sexual fantasies before their crimes. Weapons, most often knives, were used by these juvenile sexual murderers to kill known victims in a majority of the cases. They usually acted alone and selected a low risk victim. These findings suggest that juvenile sexual murderers are an emotionally and behaviorally disturbed population with identifiable psychopathology, personality disturbances, and criminal patterns.