ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Page Count: 8

A Classification of Psychological Factors Leading to Violent Behavior in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Derecho, DV
Research health science specialist, National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Menlo Park Division, CA

Leong, GB
Staff psychiatrist, Western State Hospital, WA

Silva, JA
Staff psychiatrist, Palo Alto Veterans Health Care System, CA

Ferrari, MM
Chief, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, CA

Weinstock, R
Clinical professor of psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, CA

(Received 1 February 2000; accepted 25 April 2000)

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder has long been linked to violent behavior. However, the exact nature of that association remains poorly characterized due to the limitations of knowledge in the area of phenomenology, contextual factors, the biology, and the nature of the aggression involved in the disorder. A clear understanding of the genesis of violence in posttraumatic stress disorder can be helpful to those involved in assessing psychiatric-legal issues relevant to the disorder and in its therapeutic management. In this article, we review the potential psychological links between post-traumatic stress disorder secondary to combat exposure and violent behavior and suggest a tentative classification of the main psychological causes of violence in that syndrome.

Keywords:
forensic science, forensic psychiatry, posttraumatic stress disorder, violence, misidentification of persons, combat addiction, sleep disturbance, dissociation, means rea, diminished capacity

Paper ID: JFS14963J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS14963J
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