Il Test di Rorschach sulla scena del delitto negli autori di omicidio: studio statistico retrospettivo

Abstract

When drawing up an expert opinion, the Rorschach test is frequently used to gain a better understanding of the way of
thinking, view of reality, management of affect and, in general, the personality of the authors of homicide. All these elements
will be helpful to the expert called upon to clarify any level of mental disorder in the perpetrators of crime, especially in the
case of serious crimes such as homicide. The present investigation stemmed from the assumption that it is possible to identify
correlations among aspects of thought disorders (also psychopathological ones) and criminological and criminalistic variables
closely related to the crime, and that traces of these will emerge in the Rorschach findings. A retrospective study of 49
Rorschach protocols was conducted on perpetrators of homicide, collected between 1998 and 2015 according to the SRR
Scuola Romana Rorschach method and stored in the database of the Criminology and Forensic Psychiatry Section of Bari
University Hospital. The results of the assessment indicated 23 subjects as imputable, versus 10 with a partial and 16 with a
total mental disorder. Based on the dichotomy between the “organized” and the “disorganized” crime scene, the Rorschach
was confirmed to be an extremely valid tool that contributes to delineate the overall personality and the most salient personal
characteristics of the authors of homicide, as well as the criminal profile.