Othello Syndrome
Introduction & Characterization The Othello syndrome was named by the English psychiatrist John Todd (1914-1987) in a paper he published with K. Dewhurst entitled "The Othello Syndrome: a study in the psychopathology of sexual jealousy" (Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorder, 1955). The eponym “Othello syndrome” originates from Shakespeare’s tragedy in which the protagonist’s jealousy over his wife’s supposed infidelity ultimately leads him to commit spousal homicide. It refers to a content-specific delusion characterized by the fixed false belief that one’s partner has been or is being unfaithful. Men are diagnosed with Othello syndrome more often than women. Patients with Othello syndrome ascribe personal meaning to benign events, misinterpreting the behavior of others to provide confirmatory evidence for their delusions. Delusional jealousy is also known as erotic jealousy syndrome, morbid jealousy, Othello psychosis, or sexual jealousy. Othello syndrome ...