NCJ Number
223325
Date Published
March 2008
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on a population-based study that investigated the presence of mental illness among victims of interpersonal violence who were hospitalized for the treatment of their injuries in Western Australia.
Abstract
The study found that one in four hospital admissions for the treatment of injuries due to interpersonal violence also had a mental-health admission in their hospital records during the study period (1990-2004). Of the 36,934 hospitalizations due to interpersonal violence, 9,846 had a mental health admission in their hospital records during the study period. Fifty-three percent of the 9,846 hospitalizations due to interpersonal violence and a hospital admission for a mental illness were for Indigenous people (n=5,201). Although the overall hospitalization rate for victims of violence with a mental illness has slightly decreased since 1998, there has been an increasing rate of treatment for mental illness among females victimized by interpersonal violence, particularly Indigenous females. Data on the specific psychiatric conditions for which victims of violence received treatment were not available for this study. Females, particularly Indigenous females, adolescents, and young adults were at increased risk for hospital admissions for interpersonal violence; these groups should be targeted for specific attention. Treatment and prevention planning could be improved by including in hospital records data on the victim-perpetrator relationship and the types and contexts of interpersonal violence experienced by the victims. The study used linked data from the Western Australian Mortality Database, the Hospital Morbidity Data System, and the Western Australian Mental Health Information System from 1990 to 2004. These data are currently held at the Western Australian Department of Health. 4 tables and 1 figure