Violence and trouble with the Law

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People who exhibit unpredictable behavior can be frightening.

Likewise, patients with schizophrenia often behave in ways that are difficult to understand and sometimes scary.

Although the media tends to link schizophrenia and violence, research has shown that the majority of patients with schizophrenia are no more likely to be violent than someone without schizophrenia. 

Most schizophrenia patients prefer to be alone and rarely wish to interact with other people. When violence does occur, it is most likely to be directed at family members or treatment team members rather than strangers.

One group of schizophrenia patients that is more prone to violence includes those who abuse alcohol or illegal drugs.

In fact, a recent study in the American Journal of Psychiatry investigated the current relationship among schizophrenia, criminal behavior, and drug abuse.18 The study revealed that over the past 25 years, 22 percent of schizophrenia patients were convicted of a crime compared to only 8 percent of nonschizophrenics.

At the same time, drug use among schizophrenia patients also increased. Whereas 25 years ago only 8 percent of schizophrenics used drugs, currently more than 26 percent have been found to use illegal drugs. Most schizophrenia patients are nonviolent, but patients who use illegal drugs may be more likely to commit a crime.

Heather Barnett Veague, Ph.D.
Heather Barnett Veague attended the University of California, Los Angeles, and received her Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University in 2004. She is the author of several journal articles investigating information processing and the self in borderline personality disorder. Currently, she is the Director of Clinical Research for the Laboratory of Adolescent Sciences at Vassar College. Dr. Veague lives in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, with her husband and children.

References

1. National Alliance on Mental Illness, "About Mental Illness." Available online. URL: http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=By_Illness. Accessed February 22, 2007.
2. American Experience, "People and Events: Recovery from Schizophrenia." Available online. URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/nash/ peopleevents/e_recovery.html. Accessed February 22, 2007.
3. John F. Nash Jr., "Autobiography." Availalable online. URL: http://nobelprize.org/economics/ laureates/1994/nash-autobio.html. Accessed May 10, 2007.
4. Sylvia Nasar, A Beautiful Mind. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1998, 335.
5. American Experience,"Transcript." Available online. URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/nash/filmmore/pt.html. Accessed February 22, 2007.
6. See note 2.
7. Robert L. Spitzer et al., eds., DSM-IV-TR Casebook: A Learning Companion to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed., Text Revision. (Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, 2004), 189 - 90.
8. H. Hafner et al., "The Influence of Age and Sex on the Onset and Early Course of Schizophrenia." British Journal of Psychiatry 162 (1993): 80 - 86.
9. E. Fuller Torrey, Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Consumers and Providers, 3rd ed. New York: Harper Perennial, 1995, p. 79.
10. G.A. Fava and R. Kellner, "Prodromal Symptoms in Affective Disorders." American Journal of Psychiatry 148 (1991): 828 - 830.
11. British Columbia Schizophrenia Society, "Basic Facts about Schizophrenia," Available online. URL: http://www.mentalhealth.com/book/ p40-sc02.html#Head_4. Downloaded on November 13, 2006.
12. Quoted in J.N. Butcher, S. Mineka, and J.M. Hooley, Abnormal Psychology. Pearson: Boston, 2004.
13. Harrison et al., "Recovery from Psychotic Illness: A 15- and 25-year International Follow-up Study." British Journal of Psychiatry 178 (2001): 506 - 517.
14. N.C. Andreasen, "The Role of the Thalamus in Schizophrenia." Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 42 (1997): 27 - 33.
15. J. Hooley and S. Candela, "Interpersonal Functioning in Schizophrenia." In Oxford Textbook of Psychopathology, edited by T. Million, P.H. Blaney, and R.D. Davis. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
16. J.D. Hegarty et al., "One Hundred Years of Schizophrenia: A Meta Analysis of the Outcome Literature." American Journal of Psychiatry 151, no. 10 (1994): 1409 - 1416.
17. E.Q. Wu et al., "The Economic Burden of Schizophrenia in the United States in 2002." Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 66, no. 9 (2005): 1122 - 1129.
18. C. Wallace, P.E. Mullen, and P. Burgess, "Criminal Offending in Schizophrenia over a 25-year Period Marked by Deinstitutionalization and Increasing Prevalence of Comorbid Substance Use Disorders." American Journal of Psychiatry, 161 (2004): 716 - 727.
19. Suicide and Mental Health Association International, "NARSAD Publishes Top 10 Myths About Mental Illness Based on Nationwide Survey." Available online. URL: http://suicideandmentalhealth associationinternational.org/factsmythsment.html. Accessed February 22, 2007.

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