Predictors of violent reconvictions and mortality among impulsive alcoholic violent offenders: A prospective study

Acts of violence lays a great burden on humankind. The negative effects of violence could be relieved by accurate prediction of violent recidivism. However, prediction of violence has been considered an inexact science hampered by scare knowledge of its causes. The study at hand examines risk factors of violent reconvictions and mortality among 242 Finnish male violent offenders exhibiting severe alcoholism and severe externalizing personality disorders. The violent offenders were recruited during a court-ordered 2-month inpatient mental status examination between 1990—1998. Controls were 1210 individuals matched by sex-, age-, and place of birth. After a 9-year non-incarcerated follow-up criminal register and mortality data were obtained from national registers. Risk analyses were applied to estimate odds and relative risk for recidivism and mortality. Risk variables that were included in the analyses were antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), borderline personality disorder (BPD), a comorbidity of ASPD and BPD, childhood adversities, alcohol consumption, age, and monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) genotype. In addition to risk analyses, temperament dimensions (Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire [TPQ]) were assessed. The prevalence of recidivistic acts of violence (32%) and mortality (16%) was high among the offenders. Severe personality disorders and childhood adversities increased the risk for recidivism and mortality both among offenders (OR 2.0–10.4) and in comparison between offenders and controls (RR 4.3–53.0). Offenders having BPD and a history of childhood maltreatment emerged as a group with a particularly poor prognosis. MAOA altered the effects of alcohol consumption and ageing. Alcohol consumption (+2.3%) and age (–7.3%) showed significant effects on the risk for violent reconvictions among the high activity MAOA (MAOA-H) offenders, but not among the low activity MAOA (MAOA-L) offenders. The offenders featured temperament dimensions of high novelty seeking, high harm avoidance, and low reward dependence matching Cloninger’s definition of explosive personality. The fact that the risk for recidivistic acts of violence and mortality accumulated into clearly defined subgroups supports future efforts to provide for evidence based violence prevention and risk assessments among violent offenders.

Kvinnligt medberoende, ett resultat av genusordningen?

Medberoende har blivit ett relativt vedertaget begrepp sedan 1980-talet. Termens syfte var att beskriva det beteende som en person åsamkades av att leva tillsammans med en alkoholmissbrukare samt hur denna person även möjliggjorde för missbrukaren att fortsätta i sitt mönster. Forskning har visat att fler kvinnor än män tenderat att bli medberoende och att män oftare lämnat en missbrukande partner. Kritiker har därför menat att begreppet endast identifierat ett kvinnligt fenomen och att termen fungerat kränkande mot kvinnor samt bortsett från det faktum att kvinnan tillhör en underlägsen grupp i samhället. Inom socialt arbete i Sverige har det hittills varit sparsamt med forskning utifrån könsteoretiska utgångspunkter. Då dagens samhälle ter sig vara byggt på kvinnliga underordningar och manliga överordningar anses könsteoretisk forskning vara viktig. Denna rapport har syftat till att belysa ”kvinnligt medberoende” utifrån genussystemteori. Avsikten har varit att undersöka utifall ett samband mellan genus eller kön och kvinnligt medberoende kunde påträffas.