Citation

Hiday VA. Int. J. Law Psychiatry 2006; 29(4): 316-331.

Affiliation

Sociology and Anthropology, 1911 Bldg 310, Box 8107, NCSU Campus, Raleigh, NC 27695, United States.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.ijlp.2004.08.010

PMID

16533532

Abstract

Much research, but not all, appears to show that persons with severe mental illness are more dangerous and violent than others; but it is misleading and feeds the stigma cannon. This paper critically reviews reported correlations between severe mental illness and violence, examines their statistical confounds, highlights studies which seek causal mechanisms explaining the associations, points to what those causal mechanisms tell us about controlling risk in the community, and reviews legal attempts to control community risk in light of those causal mechanisms.