A prospective study using the Monroe Dyscontrol Scale as a measure of impulsivity in referrals to a forensic psychiatry service.

Many people referred to a forensic psychiatry service will have displayed impulsive aggression. There are few validated tests to allow a quantitative measurement of such behaviour. The Monroe Dyscontrol Scale (MDS) arose from work that recognized certain symptoms in people who had impulsive aggression, the so-called 'episodic dyscontrol syndrome'. This study uses the MDS in two groups of people who were referred to a forensic psychiatry service. One was a group of 'mentally disordered' in-patients, and the other comprised consecutive referrals to the service. The groups were compared and certain features noted. The most interesting feature was that a family history of epilepsy was common, and associated with high scores on the MDS. The value of the MDS, and the importance of a family history of epilepsy, are discussed.