Attacks on German public figures, 1968-2004: warning behaviors, potentially lethal and non-lethal acts, psychiatric status, and motivations

Hoffmann, Jens; Meloy, J Reid; Guldimann, Angela; Ermer, Anneliese (2011). Attacks on German public figures, 1968-2004: warning behaviors, potentially lethal and non-lethal acts, psychiatric status, and motivations. Behavioral sciences & the law, 29(2), pp. 155-79. New York, N.Y.: Wiley 10.1002/bsl.979

Full text not available from this repository.

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.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine > Forensic Psychiatric Services 04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine > Forensic Psychiatric Services
UniBE Contributor:	Guldimann, Angela, Ermer, Anneliese
ISSN:	0735-3936
Publisher:	Wiley
Language:	English
Submitter:	Factscience Import
Date Deposited:	04 Oct 2013 14:11
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 14:01
Publisher DOI:	10.1002/bsl.979
PubMed ID:	21381093
Web of Science ID:	000288791000003
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/1979 (FactScience: 204087)