A Swedish study of sex offenders shows that women who commit sexual crimes are highly likely to have experienced psychiatric illness or substance addiction.
Studying 93 women convicted for sexual offenses, researchers at the Karolinska Institutes's Centre for Violence Prevention found that 37 percent had been treated at a psychiatric clinic and eight percent had been diagnosed with a psychotic disorder.
Compared with13,000 women incarcerated for non-sexual crimes, rates of psychosis were 16 times higher and rates drug addiction were 23 times higher.
In contrast, men who commit sexual offenses generally suffer fewer mental health problems than those who commit other types of crimes.
ABSTRACT: Sexual Offending in Women and Psychiatric Disorder: A National Case–Control Study