Violence and Sexual Offending Behavior in People with Autism Spectrum Disorder who have Undergone a Psychiatric Forensic Examination

Søndenaa, Erik; Helverschou, Sissel Berge; Steindal, Kari; Rasmussen, Kirsten; Nilson, Britta; Nøttestad, Jim Aage

doi:10.2466/16.15.pr0.115c16z5

Cited by 31 publications

(30 citation statements)

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“…Sondenaa and colleagues 55 screened all forensic examination reports (n = 3382) filed in the Norwegian Board of Forensic Medicine archives between 2001 and 2011 and found a diagnosis of ASD (based on ICD-10 criteria) 32 in 1% of the sample. Considering that a portion of the forensically examined individuals had not committed violent or sexual offenses, the ASD prevalence among violent/sexual offenders was therefore somewhere above 1%.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, methodological differences among the prevalence studies cited—including differences in how “violence” was defined and measured, “type” of ASD examined (e.g., autism, AS), subject source, inclusion of non-ASD comparison groups, sample sizes, and method for diagnosing ASD—limit the ability to draw firm conclusions about violence risk factors in ASD or violence risk relative to the general population. Regarding the ASD diagnostic method, four of the prevalence studies 39 , 40 , 44 , 55 did not clearly incorporate robustly gathered developmental information into their assessments (via parent/relative interview regarding early development, review of childhood school/clinical records, or use of the Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised 60 ), which is a significant limitation of those studies. Second, other potential generative risk factors for ASD-related violence (e.g., a history of psychological trauma) 106 were not emphasized, as the aim was to identify proposed risk factors based on multiple published reports.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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2016

Harvard Review of Psychiatry

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IntroductionFor the past two decades, researchers have been using various approaches to investigate the relationship, if any, between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and violence. The need to clarify that relationship was reinforced by the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012 by an individual diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. The purpose of this article is (1) to provide an updated review of the literature on the association between ASD and violence, and (2) to examine implications for treating, and for preventing violence by, individuals with ASD.MethodA review of all published literature regarding ASD and violence from 1943 to 2014 was conducted using electronic and paper searches.ResultsAlthough some case reports have suggested an increased violence risk in individuals with ASD compared to the general population, prevalence studies have provided no conclusive evidence to support this suggestion. Among individuals with ASD, however, generative (e.g., comorbid psychopathology, social-cognition deficits, emotion-regulation problems) and associational (e.g., younger age, Asperger’s syndrome diagnosis, repetitive behavior) risk factors have been identified or proposed for violent behavior.ConclusionsWhile no conclusive evidence indicates that individuals with ASD are more violent than those without ASD, specific generative and associational risk factors may increase violence risk among individuals with ASD. Further research would help to clarify or confirm these findings, suggest potential directions for evaluation, treatment, and prevention, and potentially provide compelling empirical support for forensic testimony regarding defendants with ASD charged with violent crimes.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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2016

Harvard Review of Psychiatry

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“…das Entblößen der eigenen Genitalien an öffentlichen Plätzen), häufiger kognitive und intellektuelle Beeinträchtigungen aufweisen sowie seltener eine ausreichende sexuelle Aufklärung und Erziehung erhalten haben. Darüber hinaus stellen sexuelle Übergriffe, begangen von Menschen mit einer Autismus-Spektrum-Störung, eher impulsive Handlungen dar (Søndenaa et al 2014).…”

Section: Bedeutung Der Autismus-spektrum-störungen Für Die Forensischunclassified

Sexualität bei Menschen mit Autismus-Spektrum-Störung und ihre Bedeutung für die forensische Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie

Turner

Schöttle

Briken

2020

Forens Psychiatr Psychol Kriminol

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ZusammenfassungMenschen mit einer Autismus-Spektrum-Störung zeigen die gesamte Vielfalt sexueller Fantasien und sexuellen Verhaltens ebenso wie ihre nichtbetroffenen Peers. Dennoch finden sich auch einige Besonderheiten in sexuellem Erleben und Verhalten bei Menschen mit einer Autismus-Spektrum-Störung, die größtenteils auf die störungsspezifischen Symptome zurückzuführen sind. Hierzu zählen eine höhere Diversität bezüglich der eigenen sexuellen Orientierung sowie des eigenen Geschlechtsrollenverständnisses, aber auch Probleme im Hinblick auf das Eingehen von festen Partnerschaften oder im Hinblick auf die eigene sexuelle Funktionsfähigkeit. Darüber hinaus finden sich bei manchen Personen mit einer Autismus-Spektrum-Störung (insbesondere bei Männern) Hinweise auf das Vorliegen hypersexueller Verhaltensweisen sowie paraphiler sexueller Fantasien und Verhaltensweisen. Bisher existieren keine empirischen Befunde, die nahelegen, dass eine Autismus-Spektrum-Störung einen Risikofaktor für allgemeine oder sexuelle Straffälligkeit darstellt. Basierend auf Fallstudien wurden jedoch einige Erklärungsansätze publiziert, die beschreiben, wie in einigen wenigen Fällen die autismusspezifische Symptomatik mit zu der Begehung einer Straftat beigetragen haben könnte, was auch bei der Schuldfähigkeitsbegutachtung Berücksichtigung finden könnte. Hierzu zählen eine fehlende Opferempathie, das Vorliegen kognitiver Verzerrungen oder defizitäre Kommunikations- und Interaktionsfertigkeiten. Straftäter mit einer Autismus-Spektrum-Störung sollten individuell auf sie zugeschnittenen psycho- und pharmakotherapeutischen Interventionen zugeführt werden, um eine erneute Straffälligkeit im besten Falle zu verhindern.

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“…Lastly, a recent systematic review investigated the literature which explored sexual offending in individuals with ASD (Allely & Creaby-Attwood, 2016). The review highlighted that there were only a few case reports (N = 7) on sexual offending in individuals with ASD ( (Brendel, Bodkin, Hauptman, & Ornstein, 2002;Milton, Duggan, Latham, & Tantam, 2002;Murrie, Warren, Kistiansson, & Dietz, 2002;Ray, Marks, & Bray-Garretson, 2004;Haskins & Silva, 2006;Griffin-Shelley, 2010;Chan & Saluja, 2011) and only a small number of prevalence studies (N = 7) were identified (Mouridsen, Rich, Isager, & Nedergaard, 2008;Långström, Grann, Ruchkin, Sjöstedt, & Fazel, 2008;'t Hart-Kerkhoffs, Jansen, Doreleijers, Vermeiren, Minderaa, & Hartman, 2009;Kumagami & Matsuura, 2009;Bleil Walters et al, 2013;Søndenaa, Helverschou, Steindal, Rasmussen, Nilson, & Nøttestad, 2014). Some of the case studies identified in the review by Allely and Creaby-Attwood (2016) clearly highlight the need to consider these innate vulnerabilities which may increase the risk of an individual with ASD being charged with a sexual offence.…”

Section: Risk Factors For Inappropriate Sexual Behaviour or Sexual Ofmentioning

confidence: 99%

A psycho-legal perspective on sexual offending in individuals with autism Spectrum disorder

Creaby-Attwood

Allely

2017

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry

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It is important to consider whether there are innate vulnerabilities that increase the risk of an individual with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), predominantly those defendants with a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome, being charged and convicted of a sexual offence. The significance of such can be readily seen in recent English case law, with judgments on appeal finding convictions unsafe where there have been a number of failings in the Judge's summing up. In this article, we will consider the gravity of Judges omitting to highlight a defendant's diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and the necessity of detailed explanations to jury members regarding the condition and its effect upon thoughts and behaviour. Consideration will be specifically given to the necessity to prove sexual motivation in such offences and the judicial direction required in relation to whether the appellant's actions had been sexually motivated. Recognition of the social impairments inherent in ASDs are vital to this work and we shall consider whether the difficulty with the capacity to develop appropriate, consenting sexual relationships as a result of impaired social cognition may be one of the factors which increases the risk of sexual offending in individuals with ASD (Higgs & Carter, 2015).

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Violence and Sexual Offending Behavior in People with Autism Spectrum Disorder who have Undergone a Psychiatric Forensic Examination

Cited by 31 publications

References 37 publications

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Sexualität bei Menschen mit Autismus-Spektrum-Störung und ihre Bedeutung für die forensische Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie

A psycho-legal perspective on sexual offending in individuals with autism Spectrum disorder

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