P03-255 - Comparative Analysis Of Criminal Acts Related To Heroine And Alcohol Abuse

Abstract

Introduction

Through years of practice on Substance Abuse Word in Specialized Psychiatric Hospital Kotor in Montenegro, we had an opportunity to work with a significant number of addicts who were sentenced for mandatory treatment in psychiatric hospital. Patients came mainly from group who committed criminal acts either under influence of alcohol or whose actions were determined by heroin addiction.

Objectives

To analyze the nature of criminal acts between forensic patients with alcohol and heroin abuse problem.

Aims

To distinguish characteristics between these two groups

Method

These two groups were compared according to data collected for each patient individually. Data was based on court sentences, forensic evaluation reports, observation during treatment, psychologist's and psychiatric findings. This data gave a better insight into motives, circumstances, and nature of criminal acts for each patient. In this way, we were able to distinguish common aspects of criminal acts both for group of alcoholics and group of heroin addicts.

Results

Our study has shown that nature of criminal acts among addicts significantly differs regarding type of addiction, in this case alcohol and heroin ones.

Conclusions

In general, criminal acts of alcoholics are more violent in nature, often are related to family violence, and are driven by interpersonal conflicts, which is not a case for majority of heroin addicts. Furthermore, while motive of heroine addicts is mostly to reduce abstinence crisis, we have found that in alcoholics it mostly deals with reckless behavior and acting - out behavior in state of intoxication.