NCJ Number
135800
Date Published
1991
Length
37 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the extent to which mental disorder predicts violence among jail detainees.
Abstract
The sample included 728 randomly selected jail detainees who were administered psychiatric interviews and then followed up for 3 years to see if arrest rates for violent crime differed as a function of psychiatric diagnosis. Data were collected between November 1983 and November 1984 at the Cook County Department of Corrections in Chicago. The interviewers were clinical psychologists, extensively trained in interviewing techniques and psychopathology. The interview lasted 1 to 3 hours, depending on the number of positive symptoms the detainee exhibited. Arrest data for each detainee were obtained from Chicago Police Department records. The following hierarchy of psychiatric diagnosis was developed schizophrenia/schizophreniform disorders, manic episode, major depressive episode, drug and alcohol use disorder, drug use disorder only, alcohol use disorder only, and no disorder. Violent crime included both felony and misdemeanor crimes against the person (murder, manslaughter, kidnap, aggravated battery, unlawful restraint, aggravated assault, assault, battery, robbery, rape, and deviant sexual assault). Results demonstrated that neither severe mental disorder nor substance abuse/dependence predicted the probability of arrest for violent crime. Only the schizophrenia subgroups had a somewhat higher number of violent arrests compared to the no disorder subgroup. This trend was due to high rates of violence perpetrated by a few individuals; the median and mode were zero. Because the sample included only jail detainees, the results cannot be generalized to the deinstitutionalized mentally ill in the community. Additional research on mental disorders and violence is suggested within a broader context. 89 references and 4 tables