Mental Disorder, Violence, and Gender

Recent studies have reported comparable rates of violence among men and women with mental disorder, raising important issues for clinical risk assessment. This study examines the relationship between gender and violence using data from the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study. Patients in acute...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Law and human behavior 2003-12, Vol.27 (6), p.561-571
Main Authors: Clark Robbins, Pamela, Monahan, John, Silver, Eric
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African Americans
Arrests
Bipolar disorder
Comparative analysis
Criminology
Female
Gender differences
Hispanic people
Human
Human aggression
Human Females
Human Males
Human Sex Differences
Humans
Information sources
Inpatient
Interview, Psychological
Interviews
Male
Men
Mental Disorders
Mental Disorders - epidemiology
Mental Disorders - psychology
Mental Illness
Psychiatric Patients
Risk analysis
Risk Assessment
Sex
Sex crimes
Sex Differences
Sex Factors
Studies
Substance abuse
United States - epidemiology
Violence
Violence - psychology
Violence - statistics & numerical data
Violence against women
Violent crimes
Women
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Summary:Recent studies have reported comparable rates of violence among men and women with mental disorder, raising important issues for clinical risk assessment. This study examines the relationship between gender and violence using data from the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study. Patients in acute psychiatric wards were interviewed 5 times over the year following their discharge to the community. Results showed some differences between men and women in the violence committed immediately following discharge, with rates for men being higher. But the prevalence of violence over the 1 year was similar for female and male discharged patients. However, there were substantial gender differences in the situational context of the violence committed. Men were more likely to have been drinking or using street drugs, and less likely to have been adhering to prescribed psychotropic medication, prior to committing violence. The violence committed by men was more likely to result in serious injury than the violence committed by women, and men were more likely than women to be arrested after committing a violent act. Women were more likely to target family members and to be violent in the home.
ISSN:0147-7307
1573-661X
DOI:10.1023/B:LAHU.0000004886.13268.f2