The Relationship Between Mental Disorders And How It Can Be Conducive Criminal Behavior

Mental Illness has been prevalent all throughout our history from Isaac Newton to Abraham Lincoln to Sylvia Plath and so on. These illnesses can be as minor as a slight bipolar disorder or as severe as schizophrenia. In recent years, mental illnesses are becoming more prevalent in our criminal justice systems than anywhere else. Mental illness is becoming an association with crime and based on the information that has been found, this paper will attempt to further define the problem of mental illness within our criminal justice system and offer alternatives or insights as to how to possibly help with this problem.

Violence take multiple forms, many of which are covered in the nightly news. Murder, rape, familial abuse, bullying, workplace hostility, armed robbery—all of these are societal problems with far-reaching repercussions. There have long debates and discussions regarding whether nature or nurture influences individual violent behavior. People are concerned about what makes an individual to engage in violent behavior such murder or burglary among other types of crimes. They are also concerned about what makes people stop such behavior. However, there is no precise conception whether nature, nurture or both influence violence. Some people assume that, violent behavior results from individual’s life experiences or upbringing also known as nurture. Others feel that violent behavior is more complex and results from individual’s genetic character or nature. In other words, it is not clear whether violent behavior is inborn or occurs at some point in persons’ lives, but even it’s hard, emphasizing one and ignoring other influences is always an unwise way to go.

Mental health and the criminal justice system have long been intertwined. Analyzing and understanding the links between these two subjects demands for a person to go in to depth in the fields of criminology, sociology, psychology, and psychiatry, because there are many points of view on whether or not a person’s criminal behavior is due to their mental health. Some believe that an unstable mental state of mind can highly influence a person’s decision of committing criminal actions. Others believe that mental health and crime are not related and that linking them together is a form of discrimination because it insinuates that those in our society that suffer from poor mental health are most likely to become a criminal due to their

Modern biology is focused more on understanding behavior, like violence and crime, through research on indicators and influences. Rather than attempting to determine a single root cause, researchers are discovering markers of predisposition and identifying factors of risk. In a recent interview about his new book, The Anatomy of Violence: The Biological Roots of Crime, criminologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Adrian Raine asserts that there is a “biology of violence” that should not be ignored; “Just as there’s a biological basis for schizophrenia and anxiety disorders and depression… there’s a biological basis also to recidivistic violent offending” (Gross, 2013).

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..

In addition to any potential financial stressors an individual may be experiencing that could trigger a violent episode, there may be a mental illness that makes the bad situation worse. Conditions such as, anti-social personality disorder, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder are just a few illnesses that can make a potentially violent situation go from bad to worse. The negative effects of an individual’s illness make can make a person think that whatever problem they are having that is making them angry, is worse than it really is, potentially making their violent outburst worse. The stress this puts on the victim has a high probability of passing on an emotional disorder to them on top of the abuse they are enduring. (Blasco-Ros, Concepcion, Sanchez-Lorente, & Martinez, 2010)

A small group of people with mental illness (those with severe and untreated symptoms of schizophrenia with Psychosis, major depression or bi-polar mood disorder) may have an increased rate of violence. In this group, Individuals who are suffering from psychotic symptoms that cause them to feel threatened or manipulated by Outside forces have a greater tendency towards violent behaviour. In spite of this, with early assessment and Appropriate treatment, individuals with severe illness are no more dangerous than the general population. Community treatment programs have also been found to be helpful in the management of behaviours that lead to crime.

This documentary specifies that there is no easy answer to what is going on inside the mind of killers, and we cannot simply place these individuals into “neat diagnostic boxes” that explain why their actions turned so violent. However, the investigators present research studying different avenues regarding ways to “predict” the likelihood that an individual will commit violent crime, will maintaining that no method is perfect. Throughout the presentation, viewers are offered mountains of research highlighting a mix of nature and nurture ranging from neurologists from Harvard studying brain patterns affected by genetics, to psychologists studying maternal care and attachment during infancy.

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

Biological explanations propose that the criminal behavior is the result of the individual’s defective biological makeup. Neurological abnormalities have been the central focus in studies examining criminal behavior. In one particular study (Raine et al., (2002) – Brain Dysfunction), the brains of convicted murderers, who all pled not guilty by reason of insanity, were compared to those of a control group. The conclusive results showed that the murderers had “reduced activity in areas of the brain such as the prefrontal cortex, thalamus, hippocampus and the left side of the amygdala, which are all linked to violent behaviour.” (Raine, (2002). This study supports a deterministic approach and positions a criminal as being born this way, thus making it natural for him to commit the crime.

From Adolf Hitler to BTK, wrong doings have happened throughout the world, and they continuously happen. Robbery, murder, mass shootings, and violent assaults are some crimes that criminals commit. When these wrong doings are committed psychologists ask a series of questions involving the criminal’s childhood, drug and alcohol abuse, as well as their empathy for others ("Dangerous Minds: The Mental Illnesses of Infamous Criminals”). Through these questions, psychologists and social workers can determine if the criminals have any mental illnesses. Throughout criminal history, mental illnesses have been found in killers but not all. It is important to discover these illnesses and problems in individuals before they become violent criminals through correct treatment of counseling and support. That is the reason I am going into the field of psychology; to have a stable life, to help others who need the help and support, and to be able to love my job.

Today, mental illness has been the scapegoat for most crimes today. From mass shootings to bombings, most people have blamed mental illness for the cause of these crimes. Moreover, even some defense attorneys have even had cases in which they claimed their client had a mental illness in order to receive a lesser sentence. However, in order to truly understand mental illness, we must first look at the history of people studying the brain. The history of the study of the brain, psychology, dates back to ancient Greece. By using the scientific reasoning, Hippocrates speculated that human temperament can vary by a person's physical qualities, such as yellow bile or too much blood (Smith). Many philosophers during this time period might have only

The relationship between those who suffer from personality disorders and violent criminal activity are recurrent. For years

Violence is an increasing problem in today’s society. An act of violence can hold major consequences for society. With increased access to firearms and explosives in today’s society, it is important to know what exactly can cause a child to become violent in the present and later on in his or her life. Many variables are involved when children are growing up that may lead them to become more violent. These variables are poverty, family psychopathology (mental disorders), if the child is abused, their exposure to violence in their community and environment, substance abuse, and psychiatric disorders (Beresin). Another variable, violence in the media,

There are many different psychological aspects of crime that reveal patterns and trends unique to each criminal offender’s past. Intelligence, learning, and personality all play into the likelihood for someone to exhibit any kind of criminal behavior. In order to understand the root causes of criminal behavior and deviance of an offender, one must identify the particular parts of the human personality that play into the psychodynamics and psychosexual stages of development during childhood. From there mental disorders and other antisocial behavior may become apparent and imperative to the understanding of the origins of behavior. Psychodynamic theory explains the criminal behavior of an individual based on life experiences throughout the individual’s development during their childhood and adolescence.