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What Violent Offenders Remember of their Crime: Empirical Explorations ∗
Abstract
Little systematic evidence is available about how violent offenders remember and think about their violent crimes. The general aim of this article is to selectively review a range of different ‘types’ of memory disturbance and their risk factors, in an attempt to draw together different strands of research concerning memories of offending that might usefully be considered together for clinical purposes. A selective review of psychiatric or psychological studies related to amnesia, intrusive memories, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), ruminations, and pleasurable memories was performed. The body of research on amnesia in relation to violent crime is relatively small and is subject to significant limitations. The empirical base of studies identifying intrusive memories arising from violent crime is also very limited, with no previous published study primarily focusing on description of the form and content of intrusive memories related to acts of violence in a population of violent offenders. A small number of studies have investigated PTSD directly arising from the commission of a violent or sexual crime, in those with mental illness. No published studies that investigated the presence of ruminations related to violent offending were identified. No systematic comparative studies were identified that described the form and content that positive memories of non-sexual violence might take. Relevant phenomenological reports from extreme populations raise concerns about selection bias. A memory-based approach to eliciting descriptions of violent offending may elicit clinical information relevant to violence risk assessment and therapeutic interventions within forensic settings.
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“Although research on perpetrators’ emotional responses is limited, emerging evidence suggests that some individuals develop trauma-like symptoms, including post-traumatic stress, following the commission of violent offenses (Evans 2006).”
From Decoding the bidirectional links between alcohol misuse and aggression: toward a unified translational framework (2026) · cites this paper as Evans 2006
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Metadata
- Authors
- Evans, C.
- Affiliations
- The Medlicott Academic Unit of Forensic Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry Services, Hillmorton Hospital, Private Bag, 4733, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Corresponding author
- Evans, Ceri
- Venue
- Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2006-06
- Volume
- 40
- Issue
- 6-7
- Pages
- 508-518
- ISSN
- 0004-8674 (ISSN-L)
- 1440-1614
- OpenAlex
- W2021767259
- Cited by
- 25
- References
- 66
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2015: 2 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 2.58
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Keywords
- violent offenders, memory impairment, amnesia, intrusive memories, post-traumatic stress disorder, rumination, violent offending, sexual offending, violence risk assessment, forensic psychiatry, selection bias
- MeSH terms
- Amnesia, Crime, Humans, Memory, Recurrence, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Violence, Empirical Research
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