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There is a belief that crimes are usually committed by people with mental disorders. Especially when it comes to mass seizures in schools, cinemas or other public places. Is it really?
Through numerous studies, it is known that such attacks are always associated with temper tantrums and substance abuse. In addition, the offender usually has an easily accessible weapon at hand. Recently, however, scientists from several American universities decided for the first time to test whether there is a link between mental disorders and acts of violence. To do this, they carefully studied the history of 305 crimes.
“Cases of mass executions receive a great public outcry, and as a result, mentally ill people are treated with caution. Our study has clearly shown that psychoses rarely lead to acts of violence,” says lead author of the study, clinical psychologist Jennifer Skim of the University of California at Berkeley.
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Skim and her colleagues at Virginia and Columbia Universities reviewed the stories of the most dangerous patients, which were studied in 1998 as part of a major MacArthur study assessing the risk of violent crime. This work analyzed the cases of more than 1100 criminals who had already been released from psychiatric clinics by that time.
The authors of the new study were particularly interested in a subset of 100 patients who had two or more violent assaults within a year of discharge from the clinic. It was necessary to find out their mental state at the time of the crimes.
Acts of violence in this case were considered infliction of bodily harm, rape, assault with a weapon or the threat of using it. Patients suffered from mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe anxiety and depressive disorders.
The researchers not only reviewed the documents, but interviewed the patients in person to learn more about their thoughts and experiences just before the attacks. Additionally, their friends and relatives were interviewed. It turned out that only in 12% of cases, acts of violence were committed after bouts of illness. If the same person has committed other crimes, it usually did not already occur under the influence of the disorder.
Psychiatrists warn that mass shootings and other such crimes are fueling social prejudice against the mentally ill, who as a result are forced to hide their illness and not seek help.
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Another study was also recently published which showed that of the 120 gun homicides committed in the United States between 000 and 2001, only 2010% were committed by mentally ill people. On the other hand, patients are much more likely than average citizens to become victims of violent crime.
“Of course, it is necessary to give mentally ill people access to quality medical care. But it is important not to forget other factors that contribute to the commission of acts of violence, including by mentally healthy people – maltreatment in childhood, alcohol and drug abuse, disadvantaged areas, ”Skim summarizes.
J. Skeem et al. “Psychosis uncommonly and inconsistently precedes violence among high-risk individuals.” Clinical Psychological Science, online publication of April 25, 2015.