Schizophrenia and violent Behavior

The aim of this study is to report the case of a woman who killed a

child. After a forensic psychiatric appraisal to evaluate penal

responsibility, she was considered not guilty by reason of insanity and

mandatorily committed to the central forensic psychiatric hospital in the

State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The patient received a diagnosis of

paranoid schizophrenia, based on DSM-IV-TR. She was not in psychiatric

treatment and showed psychotic symptoms before the violent behavior

became manifest. The study of motivational factors in homicidal behavior

may provide further knowledge for understanding, preventing and

treating it in such cases.

Revista Latinoamericana De Psicopatologia Fundamental