Relationship between mental illness and violence - Research Paper Example

This research will begin with the statement that there have been numerous research studies that aimed to determine the relationship between mental illness and violence. From the research conducted by Heather Stuart and published in the World Psychiatry, the author aimed to establish the link between mental illness and violence through addressing three specific questions, to wit: “Are the mentally ill violent? Are the mentally ill at increased risk of violence? Are the public at risk?” The findings indicate that: (1) mental disorders alone are insufficient and unnecessary causes of violent behavior; (2) the general public’s perception of mentally ill people being prone to exhibit violent behavior is exaggerated; and (3) it was emphasized that substance abuse is a strong contributor to violent behavior for the mentally ill.

The findings of Stuart’s research is actually consistent with the findings reported by Rattue that “according to the researchers' estimates, people with a mental illness are almost four times more likely to be the victim”. In another study published in the Harvard Health Publications of the Harvard Medical School, it was revealed that majority of people who were diagnosed to possess psychiatric disorders have been found not to exhibit violent behavior. The same study has confirmed that substance abuse is a stronger contributor to violent behavior.

Therefore, the treatment recommended to address violent behavior in this study was a collaborative interplay of medical with psychosocial methods noted, such as using conflict management, treatment for subtance abuse, and integrating cognitive behavioral therapy, among others. (Harvard Medical School, 2011). In the more recent paper written by Dorn, Volavka and Johnson (2011) and published in the Social Psychiatry Psychiatric Epidemiology Journal, the authors aimed to contest the general consensus that “severe mental illness (SMI) increases violence risk” (p. 1). By using data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), the results confirm that “there is a statistically significant, yet modest relationship between SMI (within 12 months) and violence, and a stronger relationship between SMI with substance use disorder and violence” (Dorn, Volavka, & Johnson, 2011, p. 1). The author’s contentions were supported by other research studies particularly that which was written by Angermeyer, Cooper, & Link (1998), where these authors have supported and validated that the general public’s perception of mentally ill people being predominantly violent was actually unfounded and unreliable.

On the contrary, it is the mentally ill people who are at most risk and are exposed to violent behavior. Personal Analysis and