Psychiatric Aspects of Homicide Prevention
EMANUEL TANAY M.D.1
1 Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Professor of Law at Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich.
The author describes three types of homicide: ego-syntonic, ego-dystonic, and psychotic. He points out that ego-dystonic, or dissociative, homicide is by far the most common and notes that it requires the presence of a number of factors: an overcontrolling superego in the perpetrator, a sadomasochistic relationship between victim and perpetrator, an altered state of consciousness, and the presence of a weapon. In his discussion of the difficulties inherent in developing methods of preventing homicidal behavior, the author points out that the one factor that could be controlled is the availability of the weapon, particularly guns.
