Mental Health and Violence

Mental Health and Violence

Introduction

Is one suffering from a mental illness considered violent? Are these individuals considered more violent than those that do not suffer from such illnesses? Because they might be more prone to violence, should the public be worried with respect to its safety? Questions such as these have framed both public and scientific debates all around the globe. The relationship between violence and mental illness remains to date, a very debatable topic.

From here on forth, the term 'violence' will be used in the context that one commits an act of physical harm against another. This assumption has been made since physical violence is what an average human being considers to be most threatening. It is also through this that society labels and grades the intensity of the crime of physically assaulting someone. The term 'mental illness' will be used to describe non substance related illness or disorders. Common examples of such disorders include the likes of depression and schizophrenia.

Thesis

“An individual suffering from a mental disorder are not at an increased risk of violence unlike many believe it to be. Major causes of violence and turmoil remains in light of factors such as gender, age, society and economic status.”

Discussion

Is an Individual Suffering from a Mental Illness Violent?

Throughout time, there seems to have been a convergence in how many associate mental illness and violence to be joined at the hip. Many individuals have gone to the length of predicting the likelihood of an individual's mental state and the degree to which that individual is capable of committing violence. With the advent of technology and a greater understanding of the human mind, scholars and scientists have created numerous risk assessment tools. Unfortunately, these tools lack the complete understanding of the human mind and use simplistic factors and algorithms to analyze the likelihood of one's violent streak (Monahan et al, 2001).

It has also been seen that opinions change with geographic locations. An individual with a mental illness in the rural regions of India is considered to be possessed; where as in countries with a higher understanding seem to view the matter in a much more sophisticated manner. In countries like the United States, the general public judge risks related to violence independently and differently. A study surveyed the American public and respondents rated the following groups with respect to how likely they might be prone to committing an act of violence as follows: Substance depending individuals ranked 87%, alcohol addicts were rated 70%, schizophrenics 60%, depressives were rated 33% and troubled individuals were rate as 16% likely to commit an act of violence (Pescosolido et al, 1999). The study showed that as compared to earlier studies, the general public these days viewed substance abusers more likely to commit an act of violence than one that suffers from a mental illness. This assumption matches the thesis statement of this paper and proves that mentally challenged individuals are not at an increased risk of ...