Mental Illness And Violence Research Paper

“It is common that the media will associate mental illnesses with fear…The explanation may lie in negative stereotypes of people with mental illnesses as dangerous and unpredictably violent, thus making them ‘scary.’ Our brain’s natural tendency to confirm negative stereotypes ingrains this myth in our minds.”

The public has programmed many to perceive those with mental illnesses as more dangerous. According to the New Yorker, a study done in 2013 showcased that forty-six percent of respondents believe that people suffering from a mental illness pose a greater danger to society than those without. Furthermore, two recent Gallup polls, from 2011 and 2013, demonstrated that more people believe that mass shootings transpire because of a failure in the mental health system, not due to the easy access of guns. In the cases of Sandy Hook, Marysville-Pilchuck, Virginia Tech, and more, teachers, students, parents, and most importantly, the public, automatically assumed only insanity could cause the performance of those acts. Of course, mental illness can play an immense factor in a person’s likelihood to commit violent acts, but pinpointing it as the paramount reason for them should not happen. After lengthy analyses of data that discusses the correlation of gun violence and mental disorders, Jeffrey Swanson, a medical sociologist and professor of psychiatry at Duke University concluded that mental illness became a risk factor for gun violence in four percent of cases. Although the presented facts disclose the almost non-existent connection between mental illness and gun violence, many continue believing the opposite.

In addition, “The perceived link between mental illness and violence could lie in television and films that sensationalize murders committed by mentally ill persons…” (Callahan). The problem with people with mental illness being categorized as being violent is with popular TV shows showing people crimes such as murder being committed by people with mental illnesses. The media also plays a huge role in the reason why people with mental health issues are thought of as violent because they talk more about crimes such as murder being done where mental illness played a

This essay will look at the public understanding of the nature of mental disorder and to what extent it is associated with dangerousness and violence. The essay will begin by exploring the public’s perspectives and opinions on the matter and the impact that the mentally ill have on crime rates. Specific social perspectives will also be explored..

There is no doubt that the results of a rampage can be tragic, But the media tends to exploit the drama and leave out the context.Aside from the group of severely ill individuals, multiple studies have shown that mental illness alone does Not incline a person to violence.

The general public seems to favor the idea of increasing the reporting of mental illness in background check databases and limiting the ability of those with mental illness from gaining access to guns. In an article by James D. Calvert PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist and lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Southern Methodist University, cites a recent study done by The New England Journal of Medicine that found that both gun owners, and those who don’t own a gun agree that mental health providers should be required to report those who have threatened to hurt themselves, or others to a background database (Calvert, 76). Another article written by Jeffrey W. Swanson, PhD., a lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University, discusses how the public bases its information on what it learns from sources in the media, which “reinforces the public’s perception of a strong link between mental illness and violence.” (Swanson, 169). This perception then also helps creates a fear of people with mental illness and makes those with such problems afraid to seek voluntary treatment.

The information conveyed in this link is both interesting and appalling in various ways. The main thing that struck me was the labeling that is often given to individuals with mental illness. In fact, the topic of mental illness usually comes up in discussion following mass shootings or other heinous crimes. However, as mentioned in the article not all people who are mentally ill have violent tendencies. Moreover, this labeling is a result of the media attempting to garner more views and to find some plausible explanation for someone’s erratic behavior. Rather than hone in on stricter gun control laws. John Oliver discussed the stigma that forever follows a mentally-ill individual, and the words that are used to describe them such as; “Wack0,

In America today, mental illness as it relates to violence and crime is highly debated as to whether or not it plays a factor in crimes. Even though

Many people see the mentally ill as crazed individuals that commit peculiar crimes that they don’t necessarily get punished for. That is not a completely inaccurate statement. Research has been going on for decades to try to see if there is in fact a link between the mentally impaired and violence. First physicians attempted to put together an archetype that would help them guess if the mentally ill patient in question was at a high risk to be violent. But that is all they were; merely guesses as to how likely a person was to commit violent acts. The first real studies done to correlate the mentally ill and their threshold of violence was done the 1970s. These tests showed that clinicians are twice as likely to be wrong as they are right when

Conversations associating mental illness with extreme cases of violence have become, and continue to become, more and popular in the United States of America. Many people across the nation, and even in other countries around the world, are demanding answers to an outstanding number of questions. Why did these tragic events occur? Why do these tragic events continue to occur? Why is it that whenever a mass shooting occurs the suspect claims insanity? What is insanity? Are they telling the truth or is it just a cover up? Does mental illness really cause crime? There are so many questions all with varying supplementary scenarios however, I will focus on my belief that although mental illness does not cause crime and violence, it does contribute to it. I believe that the first and most important problem in this controversy is the lack of understanding what both mental illness and crime is. Robert Schug refers to both terms as “umbrella terms” in Stacy Mallicoat’s Crime and Criminal Justice: Concepts and Controversies (2016). Mental illness consists of numerous complex conditions that alters one’s state of mind with ranging severities and crime consists of varying levels of behaviors and actions that are against the law.

It is often difficult to understand the decision making of people that lack the mental stability of average people. Many people may argue that mental illness has no relation to crime. Sherry Glied, and Richard G. Frank search for an explanation of violent acts and how they can be linked to some clues of psychological abnormalities. In the academic article, "Mental Illness and Violence: Lessons from the Evidence," Glied and Frank discuss the reason for which a person may become violent, whether it deals with mental health or has no relation at all. Meanwhile, Jeffrey H, Nathan, and others, conducted experiments regarding mental health problems and the seriousness of criminal issues. In, "Attribution and Serious Mental Illness: Understanding Multiple Perspectives and Ethno Cultural factors," these scholars focused on the idea that mental illness and violence are set off by other attributes, such as stress, anger and family problems. Both of these articles deal with the aspects of mental illness and the possible links to violence. In further discussion, readers will be able to understand the studies with different approaches, such as the type of audience they attract. Also, the scholars present evidence to prove the credibility of their studies.

Over the past few decades, many researches have strived to test and explain the correlation between violence and crime and mental illness. Moore and Hiday (2006) assert that up 22% of inmates has a mental illness, sometimes containing more mental illness patients than many psychiatric units. Due to these statistics it is evident how important it is to understand the causes of the correlations between crime and violence and mental disorders. This proposal wishes to explain and understand the possible correlation and the reasons for such correlation between mental health illnesses and violence and crime. Further research to test

While “movies, newspapers, magazines, television shows, books, radio programs, and advertisements have all been vehicles for communicating the experience of…mental illness” it usually “[tends] to be a misrepresentation of the experience” (Corrigan 201). This has a major negative impact on people suffering from mental illnesses because they feel sentiments of “societal scorn and discrimination” which ultimately “leads to diminished self-esteem, fear of pursuing one’s goals, and loss of social opportunities” (Corrigan 201). There seems to be a revival in the world of movies and television of depicting forms of exploring the minds of serial killers which started in the 60s with the creation of the Horror film genre. There is almost a strange fascination amongst audiences to know more about the minds of murderers and those who are too sick to see the wrong they are doing. Films depicting mental health have a great impact on the lives of those suffering from mental illness and also the perceptions of those who do not suffer from mental illness. The mostly negative stigma surrounding those who suffer from mental disorders gives them a bad reputation that impacts most aspects of their lives.

In recent years, there has been a higher prevalence of articles in the media in relation to mental illness and crime. This is due to a higher focus of research in the past half-century by criminal psychologists into the relationship between mental illness and violence. A conclusion has then come of this research that people with mental health problems are at increased risk of violent offending. This is determined through classification and misclassification of mental illness and clinical aspects of violence. However, there are also seen to be additional factors and trends that impact a person with mental illness’s likelihood of becoming a violent offender.