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ABSTRACTS / 27TH NORDIC PSYCHIATRIC CONGRESS I
prefrontal SERT availability and Novelty Seeking (r=-0.480,
p=0.008, N=29, Pearsons 2-tailed correlation) and positive scores of
asocial personality disorder (r=-0.484, p=0.009, N=28). The results
imply that asocial and novelty seeking behaviour in man is associ-
ated with a decrease in the prefrontal 5-HT transporter density.
References
• Mantere T, Tupala E, et al. Serotonin transporter distribution and density in the
cerebral cortex of alcoholic and nonalcoholic comparison subjects: a whole-
hemisphere autoradiography study. Am J Psychiatry 2002:599-606.
* Damasio H, Grabowski T, et al. The return of Phineas Gage: Clues about the
brain from the skull of a famous patient. Science 1994:1102-5.
s - VII / 3 Thursday 14/8,11:00-12:30
The relationship of alcohol withdrawal symptoms to
suggestibility and compliance
^ísli H. Guðjónsson', Kristín Hannesdóttir, Tómas Pór Ágústsson, Jón E Sigurðsson,
sa Guðmundsdóttir, Þuríður Þórðardóttir, Þórarinn Tyrfingsson, Hannes Pétursson.
smhg@iop.kcl.ac.uk
epartment of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill,
°ndon SE5 8AF, England
People who are experiencing alcohol withdrawal are disadvantaged
ln terms of their ability to cope with leading questions and inter-
■ogative pressure (i.e. interrogative suggestibility). What had not
been studied previously was the relationship of the severity of alco-
hol withdrawal symptoms with suggestibility and compliance. Sug-
gestibility and compliance scores, obtained during the first week of
hospital admission, were correlated with the severity of alcohol
symptoms measured on a daily basis over a seven-day period in a
grouP of 393 patients attending treatment for alcohol abuse prob-
lems. Separate analyses were performed for the male and female
Patients. Significant gender differences emerged. Among males,
alcohol withdrawal symptoms correlated positively with suggesti-
hihty and compliance across days. In contrast, among the females
alcohol withdrawal symptoms were not significantly correlated with
suggestibility and compliance, but were positively related with
fabrications in memory recall. The findings suggest that in relation
to Psychological vulnerabilities during questioning, alcohol with-
drawal symptoms are associated with different psychological fac-
tors 'n males and females.
Reference
Gísli H. Guðjónssoni, Kristín Hannesdottir, Tómas Pór Ágústsson, Jón F. Sig-
urðsson, Ása Guðmundsdóttir, Þuríður Þórðardóttir, Þórarinn Tyrfingsson,
annes Pétursson. (in press). The relationship of alcohol withdrawal symptoms
° su88estibility and compliance. Psychology, Crime & Law.
s — VI! / 4 Thursday 14/8,11:00-12:30
Motivation for offending and personality
Park n ^“ðjónsson, Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny
Psvch' enmar^ London SE5 8AF, England. Jón Friðrik Sigurðsson, Department of
Kn'it i 'a^r^ University Hospital, Hringbraut, IS-101 Reykjavík, Iceland
spJtghg@ioP' kcl. ac. uk; jonfsig@landspitali. is
urpose: The study examined the relationship between motivation
°r °ffending and personality.
cthod: A specially constructed Offending Motivation Question-
naire (OMQ) was developed along the lines of Farmington’s (1986)
theoretical framework of criminal offending. The OMQ, the Self-
reported Delinquency Scale, the Gudjonsson Compliance Scale
(GCS), the Gough Socialisation Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem
Scale, and the Gudjonsson Blame Attribution Inventory (GBI)
were administered to two groups of students: College students and
University students.
Results: Factor analysis of the OMQ revealed four motivational
factors for offending (Compliance, Provocation, Financial, Excite-
ment) and one further factor associated with the failure to appreci-
ate the consequences of the criminal act. As predicted, the GCS
correlated significantly with a compliance molive (i.e. being
coerced, manipulated, or tricked into crime by a peer, or eagerness
to please a peer), whereas the remaining four factors were associ-
ated with a low score on the Gough Socialisation Scale. External
and Mental Element attributions were mainly found to be associ-
ated with provocation and consequences factors.
Conclusions: Tlie findings support the view that there is a relation-
ship between the motivation for offending, failure to appreciate the
consequences of one’s actions, and personality. Further research
should focus on studying this relationship among criminal popula-
tions.
Reference
Guðjónsson GH. Sigurdsson JF (in press). Motivation for offending and
personality. Legal and Criminological Psychology.
S-VII/5 Thursday 14/8,11:00-12:30
Forensic psychiatric patients in Copenhagen - diagnoses,
substance abuse and criminality
Peter Kramp. Head of Clinic of Forensic Psychiatry, Ministry of Justice, Clinic of Foren-
sic Psychiatry, Blegdamsvej 6B, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark. Gorm Gabrielsen.
pk@retspsykiatriskklinik.dk
A connection between schizophrenia and violence has been estab-
lished in many studies. The purpose of the study is to map out crimi-
nality and diagnoses among Danish forensic psychiatric patients. A
cross-sectional study recorded data including criminality, substance
abuse and psychiatric diagnoses among 330 forensic patients
treated in Copenhagen Hospital Corporation. The materials are
analysed using logistic regressions. Forensic patients are older than
other criminals are, and there are relatively more women. 73% are
schizophrenics, 84% have an F20-spectrum disorder. 10% of all
schizophrenic men aged 20 to 44 years in Copenhagen are forensic
patients. There is no difference between the forensic patients and
other criminals concerning substance abuse or relations between
type of crime and type of abuse. Schizophrenics have mainly com-
mitted violence and especially fire setting. A growing number of
schizophrenic patients commit criminal acts dangerous to others.
The number of schizophrenic patients, who commit violence and
fire setting, is so high, that a substantial reduction could be ob-
served in the Danish crime statistic. It is concluded that lack of
treatment of the schizophrenic patients is causing suffering for the
victims, cost resources for the society and stigmatizes the patients.
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