Relationship of Mental Disorder to Violent Behavior

• NCJ Number: 114987
• Author(s): J J Collins; S L Bailey; C D Phillips; A Craddock
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 87 pages
• Grant Number(s): 86-15-CX-0034; R01-MH34895
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); National Institute of Mental Health; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: RTI International
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report examines the relationship between mental disorder and violence and uses a multivariate methodology to test the relationship of specific mental disorders to violence.

Abstract

Separate chapters examine the relationship between violence and schizophrenia, mood disorders, traumatic stress disorder, and alcohol disorders. Still another chapter examines the relationship between mental disorder and inmates' behavior. Each of these chapters can be read as a separate and full report and each contains its own literature review and methodology section. A separate chapter refutes as inaccurate and counterproductive a recent study that concluded that no relationship between mental disorder and crime exists when other factors are controlled. Among the major findings reported are that relationships do exist between violence and several of the disorders studied. The findings thus indicate the value of assessing the relationship between mental disorder and violence by using specific symptom and disorder measures. A discussion of the public policy implications of the findings is included. 150 references.