Evaluation of Sociodemographic and Clinical Characteristics of Forensic Cases Referred to a University Hospital

Abstract

Background/Aims: Judicial authorities may refer forensic cases to the child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic for different evaluations when deemed necessary. Both children who are dragged into crime and children who are victims of crime are evaluated and a medical opinion is formed in order to prepare the reports requested by the judicial authorities. In this context, it was aimed to evaluate the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of forensic cases referred to the child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic by judicial authorities in 2022. Methods: In 2022, the files of forensic cases referred to the child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic by judicial authorities were examined retrospectively and sociodemographic characteristics such as age, gender, family status, education level, parental education level, and whether they were diagnosed as a result of psychiatric evaluation were analyzed. Results: The files of 96 cases between the ages of 2-17 years were evaluated. Seventy-two (75%) of the cases were boys and 24 (25%) were girls and the mean age was 13.60±2.04 years. The most common reasons for the referral of the forensic cases were “to determine whether they comprehend the legal meaning and importance of the crime alleged to have been committed and whether they have developed the ability to direct their behavior” (n=66, 68%) and “to determine whether they can defend themselves physically or mentally” (n=18, 18%), respectively. It was determined that cases with a psychiatric disorder had significantly more repeated offenses. In addition, it was found that repeat offenses were significantly lower in children living with both parents compared to children living with a single parent/without parents. Conclusions: It was observed that having a psychiatric disorder and not living with both parents may provide important data on recidivism in forensic cases referred to our clinic. In this sense, it was thought that treatment of psychiatric disorder and social service interventions for risky groups may be important in terms of preventive medicine.