Citation

Hoffmann J, Meloy JR, Guldimann A, Ermer A. Behav. Sci. Law 2011; 29(2): 155-179.

Affiliation

Forensis, Inc., P.O. Box 90699, San Diego, CA 92169, U.S.A.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/bsl.979

PMID

21381093

Abstract

Fourteen non-terrorist attackers of public figures in Germany between 1968 and 2004 were intensively studied, with a particular focus on warning behaviors, attack behaviors, and the relationship between psychiatric diagnosis, symptoms, and motivations for the assault. A large proportion of the attackers were severely mentally ill, and most likely to be in the potentially lethal rather than the non-lethal group. A new typology of seven warning behaviors was applied to the data, and all were present, most frequently fixation and pathway warning behavior, and least frequently a direct threat. Psychiatric diagnosis could be closely linked to motivation when analyzed at the level of symptom and content of thought, often delusional. Most of the attacks were directed at political figures, and the majority occurred after 1995. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Language: en