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Medicina Legal de Costa Rica

On-line version ISSN 2215-5287Print version ISSN 1409-0015

Abstract

SABORIO VALVERDE, M.Sc. Carlos  and  GAMBOA RAMIREZ, M.A. Jessica. Psychological disorders and disturbances related to criminal violence: A study with Costa Rican female offenders. Med. leg. Costa Rica [online]. 2006, vol.23, n.1, pp.51-74. ISSN 2215-5287.

the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between psychological disorders and disturbances with criminal violence in a sample of Costa Rican female offenders. This investigation intended to provide some empirical and conceptual support to the field of forensic psychological assessment given that there is not enough research in our country concerning this specialized area. The sample was comprised of 60 female incarcerated offenders located at the correctional center "El Buen Pastor", who were classified according to their criminal history as violent and nonviolent offenders. PCL-R and MMPI-2 were used among other instruments. These instruments showed good reliability coefficients with this sample of female offenders. On the other hand, PLC-R results made it possible to know the prevalence of psychopathy in this sample as well as the fact that no significant differences existed between violent and nonviolent female offenders related to this personality disorder. Likewise, this study allowed to find out that offender with violent criminal history manifested a better level of psychological and social adjustment than those offenders with no violent criminal history. Finally, it was observed that instrumental violent offenders showed a pattern of psychological features less functional than reactive/hostile violent offenders.

Keywords : Woman; violence; crime; psychopathy; psychological disorders; PCL-R; MMPI-2; instrumental violence; affective violence.

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