Mindless and Deadly: Media Hype on Mental Illness and Violence

Despite the seemingly inextricable media link between mental illness and violence, scientific research has cast doubt on the causal connection. A three-year study, funded by the MacArthur Foundation and published in the Archives of General Psychiatry (5/98), compared discharged mental patients with...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policy File 2001
Main Author: Vine, Phyllis
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
Crime/Criminal justice
Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting
Health care policy
Media coverage
Online Access:Request full text
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Summary:Despite the seemingly inextricable media link between mental illness and violence, scientific research has cast doubt on the causal connection. A three-year study, funded by the MacArthur Foundation and published in the Archives of General Psychiatry (5/98), compared discharged mental patients with others in their communities. For those without an alcohol or other drug problem, no difference in violence was found, the authors wrote: "There was no significant difference between the prevalence of violence by patients without symptoms of substance abuse and the prevalence of violence by others living in the same neighborhoods who were also without symptoms of substance abuse." When there was violence, it "most often took place at home," not in the larger community.