SynthesisSchizophrenia bulletin2011
Homicide of strangers by people with a psychotic illness.
Synthesis in Schizophrenia bulletin, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 121 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic review of stranger homicides by psychotic individuals.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2026Pooled it
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of homicide recidivism and schizophrenia.BMC psychiatry · 2014Pooled it
- Forensic mental health service use in early psychosis: A scoping review.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Review
- Crime-scene and offender characteristics in conventional and nonconventional stranger homicides committed by male offenders in Sweden.Medicine, science, and the law · 2025Article
- Guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity? a comparative study of murderers referred for psychiatric examination by court order.Health & justice · 2023Article
- Exploring the associations between auditory hallucinations and psychopathological experiences in 10,933 patient narratives: moving beyond diagnostic categories and surveys.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- Research on interpersonal violence in schizophrenia: based on different victim types.BMC psychiatry · 2022Article
- Psychosis and the Risk of Stranger Homicides.Schizophrenia bulletin open · 2022Article
- The Doppelgänger phenomenon and death: a peculiar case of homicide by a subject with first-episode psychosis.Forensic sciences research · 2022Article
- Impact of homicide by a psychiatric patient on forensic psychiatrists: national survey.BJPsych bulletin · 2021Article
- European Lone Actor Terrorists Versus "Common" Homicide Offenders: An Empirical Analysis.Homicide studies · 2018Article
- The Link Between Mental Illness and Firearm Violence: Implications for Social Policy and Clinical Practice.Annual review of clinical psychology · 2017Review
- [Interpersonal violence in the context of affective and psychotic disorders].Der Nervenarzt · 2016Review
- The 3rd Schizophrenia International Research Society Conference, 14-18 April 2012, Florence, Italy: summaries of oral sessions.Schizophrenia research · 2012Article
- Metaphoric and non-metaphoric use of the term "schizophrenia" in Italian newspapers.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2011Article
- Violence and schizophrenia.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2011Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe homicide of strangers by people with psychosis, referred to here as "stranger homicides," are rare and tragic events that generate adverse publicity for mental health services and have resulted in significant changes in mental health policy and law.
aimTo estimate the incidence of stranger homicides, using data from previously published studies, and to compare the characteristics of psychotic offenders who killed strangers with the characteristics of those who killed a close relative.
methodMeta-analysis of the population-based studies of homicide by persons suffering from a psychosis in which the number of subjects who killed strangers was also reported. Characteristics of stranger homicide and family homicide offenders were examined in a multicenter case-control study of homicide during psychotic illness in four high-income countries.
resultsA pooled estimate of 1 stranger homicide per 14.3 million people per year (95% confidence interval, 1 in 18.9 million to 1 in 11.5 million people per year) was calculated by meta-analysis of 7 studies. The characteristics of the 42 stranger homicide offenders from New South Wales [NSW], Quebec and Eastern Ontario, Finland, and the Netherlands were identified. Twenty seven (64%) of these had never previously received treatment with antipsychotic medication. The stranger homicide offenders were more likely to be homeless, have exhibited antisocial conduct, and had fewer negative symptoms than those who killed family members. The victims of stranger homicide were mostly adult males and the homicides rarely occurred in the victim's home or workplace.
conclusionsStranger homicide in psychosis is extremely rare and is even rarer for a patient who has received treatment with antipsychotic medication. A lack of distinguishing characteristics of stranger homicide offenders and an extremely low base rate of stranger-homicide suggests that risk assessment of patients known to have a psychotic illness will be of little assistance in the prevention of stranger homicides.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.