The prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder in a special hospital population of legal psychopaths

Abstract

Abstract This paper describes a study conducted at Rampton Hospital, a maximum security facility for mentally disordered offenders, to examine the prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in samples of male and female patients in the legal category of psychopathic disorder. High prevalence rates of both current and lifetime PTSD diagnoses were found in both groups and in a significant number of cases the trauma associated with the PTSD symptoms was the offence that led to the individual's admission. There is evidence to suggest that the pattern of symptoms presented in offence-related and non-offence related PTSD may be trauma specific. Despite the small sample sizes involved, it is concluded that there is sufficient evidence to suggest the need for a larger scale investigation of PTSD in this population.