The findings of this study support that, M-FAST Turkish Form represents the structure of the original scale and can be used as a reliable and valid instrument.

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Does internal migration affect criminal behavior in schizophrenia patients?Objective: In our research, we aimed to attract attention whether internal migration has an effect on criminal behavior of schizophrenic patients.Method: Schizophrenic (according to DSM-IV) patients (66 from the general psychiatry units and 69 from forensic psychiatry clinics) participated in the research from a regional hospital in the northwest of Turkey.Forensic psychiatric patients are divided into two subgroups, namely those who migrated (n=30) within the country and not (n=39), with those who are repetitive offenders (n=29) and not (n=40); then groups were compared in the point of parameters of crime and migration.Results: Most of the patients who have not committed a crime were from cities. Even though there was no significant difference, with those who have committed a crime, the age of internal migration was younger. Migration raised the possibility of the recidivism of the criminal acts up to 5 fold whereas, having already been prisoned before raised this possibility up to 17 fold and childhood within the criminal group.Conclusions: Although our data indicated the internal migration not to affect the rate of the criminal acts among the patients with schizophrenia meaningfully, it significantly affected repetition of crime within the criminal group. The need to focus on internal migration and urbanization as disruptive environmental conditions effecting schizophrenia and crime in countries like Turkey where the urbanization process is still ongoing, is obvious.Key words: Crime, internal migration, schizophrenia ÖZET Şizofreni hastalarında iç göçün suça etkisi var mı?Amaç: Araştırmamızda şizofrenlerin suç işlemesi üzerine ülke içi göçün etkisi olup olmadığının araştırılması amaçlanmıştır.Method: Araştırmaya Türkiye'nin Kuzeybatısında bir Bölge Hastanesinin genel psikiyatri (66 hasta) ve adli psikiyatri kliniklerinde (69 hasta) tedavi edilen (DSM-IV'e göre) şizofreni hastaları alınmıştır. Adli psikiyatrik hastalar ülke içinde göç etmiş (n=30) ve göç etmemiş (n=39) olanlar ile yineleyici suç işleyenler (n=29) ve işlemeyenler (n=40) olarak ikişerli gruplara ayrılarak suç ve göç değişkenleri bakımından incelendi.Bulgular: Suç işlememiş olanların çoğunluğu kentli idi. İstatistiki olarak fark olmamasına rağmen suç işlemiş olanlarda göç yaşı daha erkendi. Suç işleyenler arasında göç etmiş olma yineleyici suç işleme olasılığı 5 kat arttırırken, önceden cezaevinde bulunmuş olma bu olasılığı 17 kat arttırmıştır.Tartışma: Şizofreni hastalarında iç göçün suça etkisi üzerine yapılmış araştırmamızda, suç işleyen ve işlemeyen gruplar arasında farklılık saptanmamasına rağmen suç işleyen hastalarda iç göçün yineleyici suç işleme üzerine belirleyici olduğu saptanmıştır. Kentleşme süreci devam eden Türkiye gibi ülkelerde şizofreni ve suç oluşumunu etkileyen çevre koşullarını bozucu bir etmen olarak kentleşme ve iç göç üzerine de odaklanma gereği açıktır.

Aims:Patients with criminal history and without criminal responsibility under compulsory treatment at the forensic psychiatry unit of Bakirköy Research and Training Hospital for Psychiatric and Neurological Diseases are included in the study and the relationship of various parameters like sociodemographic and clinic features and forensic histories are compared with the duration of the hospitalization (1,2).Method:One-hundred five schizophrenic patients are included to the study. Patients were divided into three different groups according to the duration of hospitalization. Each group included 35 patients: 1. Group: 2–6 months, 2. Group: 1–3 years, 3. Group: more than 3 years of time. An Interview Form of the Unit Identifying Sociodemographic Properties, Disease and Criminal Characteristics of the Patients, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Scale for Assessment of Three Components of Insight, Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia and the Perceived Social Support Scale of the Family were applied.Results:Our data indicated that to be convicted before, to be under compulsory treatment before, severity of the criminal act and the level of insight seem to associate with duration of hospitalization of schizophrenic subjects under compulsory treatment. Besides parameters like the age of onset of schizophrenia, being under guardianship and the frequency of visitors were statistically different among the groups.Conclusion:Our data underlines the importance of the level of insight, which plays a crucial role at the length of hospitalization for patients with schizophrenia in forensic units.

Aims:To define treatment adherence and criminal history before and after the mandatory treatment of homicidal patients and_correlation of these variables with the severity of the criminal act.Method:160 of the 197 cases, we could be able to contact and who were released from the forensic psychiatry clinic of the Bakirkoy Training and Research Hospital for Psychiatric and Neurological Diseases after mandatory inpatient treatment in 2006 were investigated for treatment adherence and criminal history for five years after release. Criminal Violence Rating Scale is used.Results:30% of the 48 patients who committed homicidal acts, had criminal history prior to the mandatory treatment and these were usually severe violent criminal offenses targeting directly at the victim's life and 14,5 % of them committed more than a criminal act before the homicidal act. After the mandatory inpatient treatment, the homicidal offenders were more likely to be kept in the mandatory outpatient treatment programme in comparison to the non-homicidal patients (87,6 % and 64,3 % respectively). 41,7 % of the homicidal offenders had been rehospitalized. Mean duration of mandatory treatment was 510 days and 148 days for the homicidal and non-homicidal patients respectively.Conclusion:The number of criminal offences and number of re-hospitalizations were not significantly different between the homicidal and nonhomicidal patient groups. As a consequence of risk reduction strategies the homicidal patients were internalized longer in terms of mandatory treatment and after the release, their control assessments were done at shorter intervals.