Is Schizophrenia a Scapegoat? the Role of Childhood Traumas and Theory of Mind on Crime

Childhood trauma histories and theory of mind test results differed only between people with schizophrenia and healthy prosocial adults of similar age, but did not distinguish between the violent and non-violent people with schizophrenia. Whereas a pathway to violence in the context of schizophrenia from early trauma through impaired reading of others' emotions seems plausible, it still lacks evidence. Our findings suggest good reason to assess and treat impairments of emotional perception and processing in people with schizophrenia, but that the need is unlikely to be specific to those who become violent. This needs further research with larger samples.