AUTOMATISM AND POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER

A soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who committed a c riminal act during a dissociative episode is described. This report an d other published cases indicate that criminal acts can occur during d issociative episodes among people who suffer from PTSD. However, the e vidence suggests that such incidents are rare and may be overemphasise d. There often seems to he little relationship between the crimes comm itted by war veterans and their war experiences.