Mental illness and violence
Mental illness and violence are closely linked in the public mind. This association is promoted by the entertainment and news media.
How accurate is the portrayal of mental illness on television?
An authoritative study in the US analysed drama programmes on television for a whole year — including soap operas and plays as well as films. The study found that 73 per cent of people shown with a mental illness were depicted as violent. The study also found that 23 per cent of people shown with a mental illness were depicted as homicidal maniacs.It might be thought that news reporting would be more accurate. However, when the same study analysed television and print news media, it was found that nearly 90 per cent of stories about people with a mental illness depicted them as violent and usually homicidal. This portrayal in the media of people with a mental illness as overwhelmingly violent is grossly inaccurate and stigmatising.
What is the truth about mental illness and violence?
Research indicates that people receiving treatment for a mental illness are no more violent or dangerous than the general population. To put things in proportion, it has been calculated that the lifetime risk of someone with an illness such as schizophrenia seriously harming or killing another person is just 0.005 per cent, while the risk of that person killing themselves is nearly 10 per cent. In other words, they are 2,000 times more likely to fatally harm themselves rather than another person.So is there any association at all between mental illness and violence?
Yes, there does appear to be a weak statistical association between mental illness and violence. This seems to be concentrated in certain sub-groups, for example, people not receiving treatment who have a history of violence, and those who abuse drugs or alcohol. However, this association is still weaker than that between violence and people who abuse alcohol in general. And it is even weaker than the association between violence and being a young male between the ages of 15 and 25.What can be done to help?
Mental health professionals, people with a mental illness and their families all agree that the most important step is to improve access to quality treatment. An important part of this is for mental health professionals to identify those most at risk of committing violence and ensure they receive appropriate, prompt and ongoing assistance. It is also important for society to have an accurate and non-sensationalised understanding of this issue. SANE Australia campaigns actively to improve community attitudes on this and other issues related to mental illness.Last Reviewed: 01 January 2005
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