Rape by CIA officer in Algiers; Violent offences not more in the mentally ill.

I have been reading some materials on forensic Psychiatry in recent times. It is widely reported that crime and violent behaviour is not more in psychiatric patients than in the normal population.
I know that a lot of people will dispute that but it is supported by research!

So I was not surprised a few minutes ago when I saw on Associated Press video on Yahoo about the case of a CIA chief in Algeria( a muslim convert himself) who was alleged to have raped two muslim women at separate times. The report even had it that videos of him having sex with many women at different time were recovered in his apartment. He was reported to have used some drugs on the women whom he picked up at the bar in the American Embassy. One onders how a highly discilplined and thorough Agency ould not have discovered this man in their routine review and screening of officers.

Well, sexual indescretion is one of a number of mental illnesses like Mania, Schizophrenia and some sexual disorders and even personality disorders, as well as substance use but these are usually not highly planned but many atimes spontaneous as their lack of good judgement and disinhibition takes the better of them.

So next time you are wont to argue about aggression, violent and violent crime in the mentally ill know that it is not particularly more in the mentally ill than in the normal population. In fact, there are a number of factors that come to play in the issue of aggression, violence and violent crime. These include Genetic and physiological factors, psychological factors and a small group of Psychiatric causes. But as you know, these is important as it may be treatable or manageable.

As a matter of fact, social factors like poverty and poor parenting pattern(either too harsh or to permissive or even deprivation in many forms) seem to be more important than other factors.
Moreover , exposure to physical abuse or neglect in childhood significantly increases the risk of violent offending in later life for both men and women.

The way in which genetic factors mediate the increase in offending is unclear but involve the hyperactivity and low IQ which are factors in children for subsequent adult offending. A lot has also been said about the Y -chromosome and hormonal abnormality due to the fact that ration of men to women vilent offenders at least in the prison population could be as high as 30:1! We know that low serotonin function in the brain hace been linked with impulsive aggression!

So with the few things that I have mentioned above, you will agree with me that the CIA offecer is not likely to be a mentally ill person and so his case goes on to butress the fact that violent offending is not the exclusive behaviour of the mentally ill.Infact, it may not be particularly more in the mentally ill!