Moral cognition and homicide amongst forensic patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder: A cross-sectional cohort study

Ken O'Reilly; Paul O'Connell; Aiden Corvin; Danny O'Sullivan; Ciaran Coyle; Ronan Mullaney; Padraic O'Flynn; Katie Grogan; Melanie Richter; Harry Kennedy

doi:10.1016/j.schres.2017.07.026

Moral cognition and homicide amongst forensic patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder: A cross-sectional cohort study

Schizophr Res. 2018 Mar:193:468-469. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2017.07.026. Epub 2017 Jul 14.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ The Department of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; The National Forensic Mental Health Service, The Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, Dublin 14, Ireland.
² The National Forensic Mental Health Service, The Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, Dublin 14, Ireland.
³ The Department of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; The National Forensic Mental Health Service, The Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, Dublin 14, Ireland. Electronic address: kennedh@tcd.ie.

PMID: 28716450
DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2017.07.026

Abstract

Forensic patients with schizophrenia who had carried out a homicide scored higher on a measure of moral cognition (MFQ-30) than other violent patients. Neurocognitive impairment was associated with homicide by mediation via higher scores for in-group loyalty.

Keywords: Homicide; Moral cognition; Neurocognition; Risk assessment; Schizophrenia; Violence.

Publication types

Letter
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Analysis of Variance
Cognition Disorders / psychology*
Cohort Studies
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Male
Morals*
Neuropsychological Tests
Psychotic Disorders / psychology*
Schizophrenia*
Schizophrenic Psychology*
Social Behavior*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Violence / psychology*