Immunity is an exemption from a legal requirement, prosecution, or penalty granted by statute or government authorities. The main types of immunity are witness immunity, public officials immunity from liability, sovereign immunity, and diplomatic immunity. Factors considered when granting immunity from prosecution for witnesses include the seriousness of the offense, reliability, and Involvement in criminal […]
Immunity from prosecution is a legal protection granted to a person that shields them from criminal prosecution for a particular offense or set of offenses. This protection is typically granted by a prosecutor or a court and prevents the government from using any testimony or evidence obtained from the person who was granted immunity against them in a criminal prosecution. The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides
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Paraphilias are persistent and recurrent sexual interests, urges, fantasies, or behaviors of marked intensity involving objects, activities, or even situations that are atypical in nature. Although not innately pathological, a paraphilic disorder can evolve if paraphilia invokes harm, distress, or functional impairment on the lives of the affected individual or others. A total of eight
Somnophilia is an under-researched paraphilia. Somnophilia, coined by John Money in 1986, generally refers to a sexual interest in engaging in sexual activity with a sleeping person. Subsequent definitions were broadened to encompass ‘unconscious’ people (e.g., Griffiths, 2014). The definitional waters become further muddied by the terms ‘Sleeping Beauty syndrome’ and ‘sleepysex’. ‘Sleeping Beauty syndrome’
When their attention is otherwise engaged, people sometimes fail to notice a salient and fully visible, but unexpected object or event, a phenomenon known as inattentional blindness. Inattentional blindness can be viewed as a byproduct of attentional selection: Our ability to focus attention enables us to ignore irrelevant or distracting information, but it occasionally leads
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Codependency is a dysfunctional relationship dynamic where one person assumes the role of “the giver,” sacrificing their own needs and well-being for the sake of the other, “the taker.” The bond in question doesn’t have to be romantic; it can occur just as easily between parent and child, friends, and family members. The term “codependency”
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) refers to a brain injury that is caused by an outside force. TBI can be caused by a forceful bump, blow, or jolt to the head or body, or from an object entering the brain. Not all blows or jolts to the head result in TBI. Head injuries have the
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Avoidant personality disorder (AVPD) is characterized by a persistent pattern of social anxiety, heightened sensitivity to rejection, and pervasive feelings of inadequacy, coupled with a deep-rooted longing for meaningful connections with others. Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler first described an avoidant personality type in his 1911 work Dementia Praecox: Or the Group of Schizophrenias. German psychiatrist
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Schizoaffective disorder is among the most frequently misdiagnosed psychiatric disorders in clinical practice. Due to concerns about the reliability and utility of the diagnostic criteria for schizoaffective disorder, some researchers have proposed revisions, while others have suggested altogether removing the diagnosis from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The term schizoaffective disorder first
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A delusion is a fixed false belief based on an inaccurate interpretation of an external reality despite evidence to the contrary. Cultural beliefs also impact the content of delusions. An individual’s cultural beliefs merit consideration before coming to the diagnosis. The belief is not congruent with one’s culture or subculture, and almost everyone else knows
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