A growing awareness of posttraumatic stress disorder has led to recent
use of the disorder as a legal defense against criminal responsibility for
both violent and nonviolent crimes. Diagnosis of posttraumatic stress
disorder is difficult because the symptoms are mostly subjective, often
nonspecific, usually well publicized, and, therefore, relatively easy to
imitate. Accurate psychiatric testimony in such cases requires diligent
searching for collateral sources of information. The authors argue that the
insanity defense is appropriate only in the rare instance that a
dissociative episode related to posttraumatic stress disorder directly
leads to criminal activity.
Abstract Teaser