Providentia

"Starship Pilot" Committed Following Fatal Crash

A 31-year old psychiatric patient has been found not guilty by reason of insanity following a fatal crash in which he reportedly believed he was piloting the Starship Enterprise at 6,000 mph.  Matthew Kelliher of Reading, U.K. was detained under the Mental Health Act after the January 27 accident which killed Duncan and Annelise Storrar.  According to police reports, Kelliher came to police attention when he was observed on Tilehurst Road commanding the lights to change from red to green.  When he saw police approaching, Kelliher then jumped into his Ford Mondeo and sped away.  After running a red light, Kelliher then led the police in a 40-second chase before ramming the Storrars' car at high speed.  The couple died instantly when their vehicle burst into flames.  On being arrested, he told officers that "I've got to pay for my sins" and that "I should have killed you too but I'm not gonna".

Although Kelliher was charged with dangerous driving causing death for which he initially pleaded not guilty, he was later sent for a psychiatric evaluation.  In evidence presented to the court, Kelliher was determined to be suffering from an "acute polymorphic psychotic disorder" and believed that his car had "powers like the Starship Enterprise".  In reviewing the facts of the case, Berkhshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust announced that an investigation would be launched when it was determined that Kelliher had been taken to Prospect Park Hospital in Reading for a psychiatric assessment on the day of the accident but released the same day because he refused to admit himself voluntarily.   He had apparently been taken to the hospital by mental health workers from his job at the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts after telling co-workers that he was Jesus Christ.  Kelliher had spent eleven days in Prospect Park Hospital in 2009 following a similar psychotic episode. He stopped taking his medication in 2009 because he believed it was "rubbish".

Kelliher will be held at Littlemore Mental Health Centre in Oxfordshire indefinitely.

For more information.

Comet Crazy

When beggars die there are no comets seen; The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes  Julius Caesar (II, ii, 30-31).

From the dawn of history, changes in the heavens have been seen as signs of impending doom.  The very word disaster comes from the Greek word for "bad star" reflecting the ancient belief that a dying star was a sign of trouble to come here on Earth.  As a cosmic harbinger of destruction, the comet has a very special place in our collective imagination.  For all the scientific investigation that astronomers dedicated to watching and classifying new comets, folklore surrounding comets and their message of doom still springs up around the world. 

According to Thomas Banbury in his 1895 book, Jamaican Superstitions, a popular uprising in Jamaica in 1842 was linked to "a very extraordinary comet, which continued in the heavens for several weeks. It was in the west, and the shape of it was like a salt fish split in two, with the head cut off), the head square and the body tapering off to a point. It was remarkably brilliant. These people made reference to it in their songs and pointed to it as an illustration of their divine mission, and the people were not a little alarmed at its appearance."  One religious groups known as the Myalists declared the comet to be a sign that the world was ending, that Christ was coming, and that they had a new divine mission to attack "magic workers" (typically practitioners of Obeah -a form of voodoo common in that part of the world).  By the time the comet had passed, the uprising had claimed numerous lives, mostly suspected sorcerers. 

Despite its predicted appearance by astronomers, sightings of Halley's Comet in 1910 generated a wave of hysteria as well. By all accounts, it was quite a spectacle with "comet-watching parties" becoming fashionable in many parts of the world.  Newspapers and radio broadcasts carried details of the latest scientific findings relating to the comet and, when astronomers announced the discovery of cyanogen in the comet's tail (using the then-new spectroscope), the hysteria became even worse.  The prospect of the comet subjecting the entire world to cyanide poisoning, no matter how attenuated. definitely sold newspapers.  A new industry sprang up with snake-oil salesmen peddling anti-cyanide pills and gas masks designed to protect the gullible from the comet's influence.  

The popular fears over the comet's passing played out in unexpected ways.  According to one news story out of Oklahoma, a group of evangelists who called themselves the "Select Followers" had planned to sacrifice a sixteen-year old virgin to "make a blood atonement for the world's sins" until local police intervened.  While the story later turned out to be a hoax, it has since taken on the status of an urban legend.  At the same time, the Cuban government used the comet as a pretext to crack down on political reform movements aimed at helping former African slaves.  The government justified their actions on the belief that the comet would be used by radicals to foster racial unrest due to widespread belief in its supernatural influence (local newspapers especially stressed the supposed danger that the comet posed to isolated white communities).  When the comet finally finished its pass by the end of May in 1910, the world breathed a sigh of relief and things seemed to return to normal.  

The appeal of comets as a sign of the Apocalypse isn't so easily forgotten however.  With each new sighting, stories of "doomsday comets" bringing cosmic destruction to Earth seem to abound.  When Comet Kohoutek made its appearance in 1973, "Moses David" Berg of the cult group Children of God (now Family International) declared that the comet was a sign of disaster ("Forty days and Nineveh will be destroyed").  Cult members distributed the warning in the popular media.  At the same time, Edward Ben Elson of the Church of the Odd Infinitum announced that the comet's gases could "ignite the world's oil supply and bring death to most of mankind".  A chosen few would be saved however since the comet would be landing on the shore of Lake Monona to take them from the cosmic destructiont.   Elson sold tickets for $10.00 each but, being a lawyer, told potential buyers "no warranties implied or expressed".  LSD guru Timothy Leary optimistically suggested that ""The Comet Starseed [Kohoutek] comes at the right time to return light to the planet Earth".  When Kohoutek came and went, the furour subsided (although the public felt cheated that the "Comet of the Century" didn't live up to its promise).

As the Millennium approached, news stories abounded about "doomsday comets" (or doomsday asteroids, tabloids rarely knew the difference).  Halley's Comet's return in 1986 proved disappointing, especially compared to its spectacular 1910 appearance.   Comet Hale-Bopp raised more hysteria when it approached in 1997.  As one of the rare naked-eye events of the past century (but still not as awesome as hoped), the comet became the subject of intense media scrutiny when an amateur astronomer claimed to have spotted a UFO in its wake.  Although other, more reliable astronomers dismissed this revelation, the UFO story may have inspired the mass suicide of thirty-nine members of the Heaven's Gate cult on March 19, 1997.  In a prepared statement left behind by the head of the cult, Marshall Applewhite, he referred to the mass suicide as "the only way to evacuate the Earth" so that the souls of the dead cultists could board the UFO trailing the comet.  Since they believed that the Earth was about to be "recycled" (i.e. destroyed and subsequently remade), boarding the UFO seemed their only chance of survival. 

Although Hale-Bopp came and went without any other fatalities (or UFO landings), the notion of "killer comets" continues to have a place in doomsday scenarios (especially with 2012 coming up).  At this point, it's easy to made two basic predictions about the future:  1.  sooner or later, we will be subjected to a new comet that will brighten the heavens with a spectacular light show, and 2.  that someone somewhere will declare that comet to be a sign that the world is ending.

It's written in the stars, after all.

Cocaine, Risky Sex, and HIV

Researchers have identified the association between the use of cocaine and sexual behavior as an important risk factor for HIV infection and have attempted to clarify the nature of this association. Several lines of research have suggested that increased sexual behavior during episodes of cocaine intoxication  may relate to direct pharmacological effects of the drug (e.g., increase in sexual desire), whereas others have pointed to the importance of factors related to the context of drug use (e.g., opportunities for sexual behavior, expectations about the effects of the drug, social norms).  A study published in a recent issue of 

Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology explored the perceived effects of cocaine and heroin on sexual behavior, as well as the social context of drug use as a function of drug type (cocaine vs. heroin), among 46 inner-city drug users who reported a history of regular use of both crack cocaine and heroin. Results indicated that, compared to heroin, cocaine had negative effects on participants' perceived sexual desire and performance. Despite such effects on sexual behavior, cocaine was more frequently used with an intimate partner than heroin. Furthermore, participants did not differ in the extent to which they used the two drugs in other social contexts (e.g., with friends, family, or neighbors). These preliminary results suggest that the relationship between cocaine and sexual behavior, especially among long-term cocaine users, may be facilitated by opportunities for sex that exist in the context of cocaine use, rather than by the pharmacological effects of the drug.

For more information.

Accused Witch Murdered in Gaza

A 62-year old  woman who had been accused by her neighbours of practicing "witchcraft" was shot and killed at her home in Gaza City.  Jabreya Abu Qeinas was sitting with her husband in her garden on al-Jalaa' Street on August 17 when an unknown assailant opened fire from a parked car in front of her house.  According to eyewitness, Abu Queinas was wounded with several bullets in the chest.  Relatives brought her to al-Shifa hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.  Abu Queinas had previously been reported to Hamas authorities for practicing witchcraft but was pronounced innocent in a court decision on May 27.  The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights condemned the attack and blamed it on the overall security chaos in the region and misuse of weapons.  They called on the Attorney General to open an investigation into the killing. 

It is not known at present whether this murder has been linked to a series of recent extremist attacks in Gaza targeting music stores, internet cafes, and other businesses deemed to be in violation of Islamic law.  Witchcraft is punishable by death in many Islamic countries.

For more information.

Suicide in Racial and Ethnic Minorities

A review of the book, Suicide among racial and ethnic minority groups by Frederick T. L. Leong and Mark M. Leach was published in a recent issue of Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. This book addresses the question of why some human beings kill themselves and what specific factors should be considered to prevent suicide. It also addresses those questions with emphasis on five groups that have received little attention in suicidology research, namely, African American, Asian American, Latino and Latina, Native American, and Pacific Islander populations (Paniagua, 2005). This is a well-integrated edited book across three sections. The first section is about theories and models of suicide. The second section is an excellent summary of suicidal behavior across the five major racial/ethnic groups in the United States cited above. The third and final section of the book summarizes prevention, testing and assessment, treatment, training, and further research issues involving the five groups discussed in prior chapters.

For more information.

Russian "Satanists" Sentenced for Brutal Murder

A Russian court has sentenced seven self-confessed members of a "Satanist" goth cult to prison terms for their role in the brutal 2008 slaying of four teenagers.  The group's ringleader, twenty-one year old Nikolai Ogolobayak, was sentenced to twenty years in prison for murder, robbery, and desecrating a corpse.  The other seven received sentences of two to ten years while an eight defendant, aged twenty-one, has been ruled insane and confined to a psychiatric hospital.  Although family members of the victims condemned the lenient sentences for many of the convicted, prosecutors defended the decision on the grounds that a ten-year maximum sentence is standard for defendants who were underage when committing their offense.

Although the trial was closed to the public because of the gruesome details of the slaying, the court indicated that the victims were apparently killed in an initiation ritual.  The bodies of the victims, three male and one female, were then cut apart and buried.   A Russian news agency reported that one of the lawyers of the defendants committed suicide last May.  

This case is the latest in a string of highly publicized deaths that have been linked to the underground goth culture in Russia. A similar murder case in St. Petersburg involving self-confessed Goths was concluded last May and is likely to add to the call for a total ban on goth and emo music and websites across Russia.  In declaring both types of music to be a "dangerous teen trend", a parliamentary committee has drafted legislation banning teenagers dressed as goths from entering schools or government buildings.  One of the bill's sponsors has described goth and emo music as being "a social danger" and a "threat to national security".  Emo music has been linked to teen suicides. 

The bill is expected to become law before the end of the year.

For more information.

Dealing With The Devil

Although cases of demonic possession have been recorded  for centuries, Christoph Haizmann's case was something special.  According to available infomation, Johann Christoph Haizmann was born in Bavaria in 1651.  After the death of his father, the destitute painter reportedly entered into a pact with the Devil in 1668 which involved nine years of service to Satan.  Haizmann actually claimed to have made two pacts:  the first pact being written in ink and the second pact was written in blood a year later.   While living in Austria, Haizmann began experiencing terrible seizures on August 19th, 1677.  The seizures, which took place in a church, caused Haizmann to  be "seized by heavy convulsions and thus brought to confess his bondage".  After telling priests about his pact with Satan, he went on a pilgrimage to a monastery at Mariazell, Austria to end his deal. 

The Mariazell Basilica is still the most important pilgrimage site in Austria and is known for its stunning architecture and religious icons.  It must have been a natural choice for someone like Haizmann who wanted to rid himself of a demon.  After a round of exorcisms, Haizmann found himself free of the Devil's influence and the blood pact was "miraculously" returned to him (the stories say that other monks saw Satan personally return the contract while in the form of a winged dragon). Unfortunately, the seizures began again after Haizmann left the monastery to live with his sister in Vienna. As the seizures worsened (along with convulsions, hallucinations of Christ and the Virgin Mary, and paralysis in his legs), Haizmann confessed that he had a previous contract with Satan (the one written in ink).  A second pilgrimage to the monastery in May 1678 led to more exorcisms until the other contract with Satan was returned as well.  Inspired by his rescue from the Devil's influence, Christoph Haizmann became a Brother Hospitaller and, under his new name of Brother Chrystosomus, he devoted himself to religious works (including artwork) until his death on March 14, 1700. 

What little is known about Haizmann's case comes from a folk song that was likely written during Haizmann's lifetime as well as an account of Haizmann's possession written by a priest who lived at  Mariazell when the exorcism took place.  The most extensive account of Haizmann's  possession, known as the Trophaeum Mariano-Cellense (Trophy of Mariazell), was written decades after Haizmann's death.  Despite being one of the most well recorded cases of cacodaemonomania on record (at least for that time period), Haizmann's possession would likely have been forgotten.

Except for Sigmund Freud...

When Freud published his classic paper,  Eine Teufelsneurose im seibzehnten jahrhundert (A case of demonic neurosis in the seventeenth century ) in 1923, it represented a radical departure from his other psychoanalytic case studies.  Not only did Haizmann die long before Freud was even born, but the historical documents that Freud based his clinical impressions on were all available for independent review (as opposed to the confidential case files of other patients that he wrote about).  In his review of the Haizmann case,  Freud argued that the painter's delusions about the Devil were caused by depression and worry about the future due to his father's death.  Basically, Haizmann looked to the Devil to become a new father for him and help him regain his artistic inspiration. In Haizmann's description of his pact with Satan, he would spend nine years being Satan's "son" after which his soul would be forfeit.  As with his other psychoanalytic case studies, Freud found a hidden sexual subtext to Haizmann's preoccupation with the Devil as a father figure.  It was probably noteworthy that Haizmann described the form the Devil took on while making the pact as being a kindly older man with a "brown beard, a red coat, black hat, a walking stick and with a black dog beside him"' 

After speculating at length about the significance of God and Satan as alternate father figures,  Freud linked Haizmann's delusions with the Devil as being an unresolved "father complex" with repressed homosexual overtones.  In seeking out an exorcism, Haizmann turned to the Church and the priests at Mariazell for a lengthy series of exorcisms. Despite the apparent success of the ritual,  Haizmann's subsequent relapse likely caused him to invent the story of the earlier ink pact with the Devil to justify a second round of exorcisms (perhaps fearing that the Mariazell priests might have doubted the sincerity of his repentance otherwise).  Joining a iorder afterward might have been Haizmann's way of resolving his father complex and enabling him to restore the imbalance in his life caused by his father's death.

Although later psychoanalysts criticized Freud's interpretation of the Haizmann case, the story of Christoph Haizmann still has a certain fascination.  A true clinical diagnosis probably can't be made given the difficulty in separating the actual symptoms that Haizmann displayed from the available historical documents (which are far from objective).  Even assuming that the more fantastic elements of the story (including the appearance of the Devil as a winged dragon) were added in later, there definitely seems to be a self-serving element in Haizmann's description of his demonic possession since he wanted to convince the priests to carry out the exorcisms. 

While there have been later instances of delusions involving demonic possession (and exorcism), Christoph Haizmann's case represents an early example of how easily psychiatric illness can interact with religious belief and how easily delusions can be exploited for political purposes.  Even after Haizmann's death, the story of how he was "saved" by exorcism became part of the local religious folklore and helped to reinforce support for the Church in an era of fading relevance during the Reformation.  It's worthwhile to note that exorcisms often continue to be used in cases of religous mania even today.  The use of "anecdotal" evidence of demonic activity to drum up support for religious movements is a worrisome trend across the world.

Did the SARS Epidemic Lead to Increased Suicides?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) claimed 299 lives in Hong Kong from 1 November 2002 to 7 August 2003.  Previous studies also revealed that there was a significant increase in suicide deaths among those Hong Kong residents aged 65 and over in 2003 with the peak coinciding with the majority of SARS cases being reported in April 2003. In a paper published in a recent issue of Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, the authors examined the mechanism of how the SARS outbreak resulted in a higher completed suicide rate, especially among older adults in Hong Kong. Using qualitative data analysis to uncover the association between the occurrence of SARS and older adult suicide, they evaluated Coroner Court reports to provide empirical evidence about the relationship between SARS and the excessive number of suicide deaths among the elderly. Their results showed that SARS-related older adult suicide victims were more likely to be afraid of contracting the disease and had fears of disconnection. The suicide motives among SARS-related suicide deaths were more closely associated with stress over fears of being a burden to their families during the negative impact of the epidemic. Social disengagement, mental stress, and anxiety at the time of the SARS epidemic among a certain group of older adults resulted in an exceptionally high rate of suicide deaths. The authors concluded by recommending that the mental and psychological well-being of the community, in particular older adults, be taken into careful account when developing epidemic control measures to combat the future outbreak of diseases in the community. In addition, it is important to alert family members to vulnerable individuals who are at potential risk because of their illnesses or anxieties.

For more information.

BC Bans Use of Phallometric Assessment in Young Offenders

Following a high profile sex offender case involving a contractor providing assessment services to offenders, British Columbia's Children and Family Development Ministry has banned the use of penile plethysmography (a.k.a. phallometric assessment) in young offenders.  First developed by Kurt Freund in the 1950s, penile plethysmography involves the measurement of deviant sexual interest in males through the use of mercury-filled strain gauges to assess changes in penile bloodflow patterns.  Despite controversy over its ongoing use, penile plethysmography remains one of the best predictors of sexual recidivism in convicted sex offenders. 

In making her decision, Children's Minister Mary Polak referred to the recent charging of the unnamed contractor (the charge is unrelated to the contractor's work with offenders) as well as complaints from government officials that penile measurement was too invasive when used with young offenders.  The penile assessment process often involved offenders as young as 13 being exposed to nude and semi-nude pictures of children and also listening to audiotape descriptions of forced sex during the assessment procedure.  While penile plethysmography is commonly used for accused and convicted sex offenders across Canada, its role in the assessment of young offenders is less well-documented.

Debate over the continuing use of penile plethysmography has gone on for years although the benefits of the procedure were felt to exceed the drawbacks until recently. Human rights groups have also spoken out against its use in young offenders.  BC's Children's Representative Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond announced that she was only recently made aware of the use of phallometric testing on young people and has called for an independent review of the practice in youth jails.

For more information.

Preventing Childhood Psychopthy

Psychopathy in children and adolescents has received increased attention over the past decade. Researchers have been particularly interested in identifying who tomorrow's chronic and serious offenders might be. In addition, researchers have been increasingly interested in determining the causes of psychopathy to develop better treatment programs. Despite this interest, few studies to date have investigated the protective factors for psychopathy in youth. A study published in a recent issue of Psychology, Public Policy, and Law investigated 140 adolescent boys and girls and the potential protective mechanisms of intelligence and motivation to change. Findings indicated that motivation to change served as a protective factor for general and violent offending at varying levels of psychopathy. Motivation to change also served to compensate for psychopathy when examining high rates of violent offending. These findings suggest that the cognitive factor of motivation to change may very well be critical in examining developmental pathways to offending in youth and a key consideration for those youth scoring high on psychopathy scales and considering violent criminal careers.

For more information.