Acting out as criminal impulse. History, Definitions, Forensic aspects

Abstract

The present article aims to conduct a comprehensive review of the existing scientific literature on this human behavioral modality, impulsive and transient, which escapes the conscious control of the subject, from a psychopathological and forensic approach. To achieve this, historical points about the different nuances of the topic will be made, supplying a panoramic and critical overview of it. It can be said that these are implicit memories about past traumatic situations that, because of a present reenactment of the unpleasant event through a dissociative mechanism, generate in the individual an impulsive aggressive reaction, over which the person has no control or awareness. This type of behavior opens the debate,  within the framework of Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry, about the defendants' ability, under these circumstances, to understand the criminality of the act and direct their actions, posing a controversial challenge to the criteria of different courts. Similarly, it is necessary to understand these behaviors, develop more proper prevention strategies, propose new therapeutic approaches to psychological trauma, and intervene in these criminal behaviors that endanger society's safety and well-being.