Socijalna psihijatrija, Vol. 54 No. 2, 2026.
Sažetak sa skupa
https://doi.org/10.24869/spsih.2026.174
“When I Grow Up, I Want to Be a Serial Killer”: New Challenges in Forensic Psychiatry / A Case Report of a Minor
Katja Galić Ćaleta
; Neuropsihijatrijska bolnica „Dr. Ivan Barbot“ Popovača, Jelengradska 1, 44317 Popovača, Hrvatska
*
Editha Vučić
; Neuropsihijatrijska bolnica „Dr. Ivan Barbot“ Popovača, Jelengradska 1, 44317 Popovača, Hrvatska
Višnja Mandac Ljubičić
; Neuropsihijatrijska bolnica „Dr. Ivan Barbot“ Popovača, Jelengradska 1, 44317 Popovača, Hrvatska
Tija Žarković Palijan
; Neuropsihijatrijska bolnica „Dr. Ivan Barbot“ Popovača, Jelengradska 1, 44317 Popovača, Hrvatska
* Dopisni autor.
Sažetak
It is undisputed that spending too much time
with digital media can affect the brain and change
how it functions. But can the content we watch
influence the way we think? Due to the increasing
need to hospitalize minors in forensic units,
we asked ourselves whether aggressive content,
which is made available to children on a daily
basis through various media, has an impact on
children’s identification and development. This
case report presents a patient admitted to forensic-
psychiatric treatment at just under 17 years of
age. The patient spent part of his upbringing in a
dysfunctional family, during which he frequently
spent time with older individuals inclined to
criminal behavior, and was later placed in a foster
family. A review of the available records reveals the commission of a criminal offense for which
he was found not criminally responsible, and the
forensic report shows that the patient’s idol is a
well-known serial killer whose life was recently
vividly portrayed in a series on a popular media
platform. Moreover, the patient’s fascination
with this serial killer goes so far that he attempts
to copy his life decisions, which influences both
his choice of school upon enrolling in high school
and the creation of the plan to commit the criminal
offense for which he was admitted to forensic-
psychiatric treatment. In multiple individual
interviews, the patient shares bizarre ideas about
ways he would like to inflict pain on others, focusing
on a group of young women, while at the
same time asserting that the “fairer sex” is for
him an “easier target” and that he expects greater
fear from them. Forensic-psychiatric treatment
of minors is a considerable therapeutic challenge,
both for the patient and for the staff. In this case,
the role of the psychiatrist and the entire team in
the patient’s treatment borders on the role of an
educator and the primary figure setting boundaries,
while simultaneously treating the mental
disorder. The aim of this presentation is to show
the extent to which treatment in a forensic unit
needs to be adapted to the patient, and to identify
potential difficulties in everyday work that
staff may encounter, especially considering the
patient’s age.
Ključne riječi
forensic psychiatry; minor patient; serial killer; challenges
Hrčak ID:
352314
URI
Datum izdavanja:
15.6.2026.
Posjeta: 0 *