Violence by People Discharged From Acute Psychiatric Inpatient Facilities and by Others in the Same Neighborhoods

• NCJ Number: 174171
• Journal: Archives of General Psychiatry Volume: 55 (1998) Issue: Dated: Pages: 1-9
• Author(s): H J Steadman; E P Mulvey; J Monahan; P C Robbins; P S Appelbaum; T Grisso; L H Roth; E Silver
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 9 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01 49696; SBR-9022192
• Sponsoring Agency: National Science Foundation; John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study describes and characterizes the prevalence of community violence in a sample of people discharged from acute psychiatric facilities at three sites.

Abstract

The public perception that mental disorder is strongly associated with violence drives both legal policy and social practice toward people with mental disorders. This study enrolled 1,136 male and female patients with mental disorders between the ages of 18 and 40 years and monitored violence to others every 10 weeks during the first year after discharge from the hospital. A comparison group of 519 people living in the same neighborhood as the persons discharged from the hospital were interviewed once about violence in the past 10 weeks. Substance abuse symptoms significantly raised the rate of violence in both the patient and comparison groups; a higher portion of patients reported symptoms of substance abuse. Violence in both groups was most frequently targeted at family members and friends, and most often occurred at home. Figures, tables, references