Mental illness, violence and delusional misidentifications: The role of Capgras' syndrome in matricide

Abstract Background Violent behavior has frequently been reported in cases of Capgras' delusion, a misidentification syndrome characterized by the false belief that imposters have replaced people familiar to the individual. Aims To better understand the relationship between Capgras' syndro...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of forensic and legal medicine 2014-01, Vol.21, p.9-13
Main Authors: Carabellese, Felice, M.D, Rocca, Gabriele, M.D, Candelli, Chiara, PhD, Catanesi, Roberto, M.D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Behavior
Capgras Syndrome - psychology
Capgras' delusion
Delusions - psychology
Female
Forensic Psychiatry
Homicide - psychology
Humans
Male
Matricide
Mental disorders
Mentally disordered offenders
Middle Aged
Mothers
Pathology
Risk assessment
Risk factors
Violence
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Background Violent behavior has frequently been reported in cases of Capgras' delusion, a misidentification syndrome characterized by the false belief that imposters have replaced people familiar to the individual. Aims To better understand the relationship between Capgras' syndrome and violence. Method After a brief overview of the scientific knowledge of delusional misidentification syndromes, we present two cases of psychotic sons suffering from this kind of delusion who killed their mothers and we analyzed the phenomenology of Capgras' delusion in-depth, focusing on the role of this syndrome in the etiology of violence. Results Capgras' syndrome may be a specific risk factor for violence towards others, particularly the murder of the delusionally misidentified person. Conclusions Looking for the signs of Capgras' syndrome may be crucial to assessing the risk of violence in mentally disordered patients.
ISSN:1752-928X
1878-7487
DOI:10.1016/j.jflm.2013.10.012