Citation

Mitchell EW. Med. Sci. Law 1999; 39(1): 23-30.

Affiliation

Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, British Academy of Forensic Sciences, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10087840

Abstract

This paper reviews major studies that have examined a possible relationship between mental disorder and violent offending. Such studies have either examined (a) the prevalence of violence in the mentally disordered or (b) the prevalence of mental disorder among the violent. Indices of violence used include (a) arrest rate, (b) conviction rate and (c) prevalence of violent behaviour in psychiatric inpatients, representative community samples and birth cohorts. It is concluded that although the mentally disordered do face an elevated risk of violent behaviour/offending, this risk is largely confined to those suffering from severe or long-term psychotic symptoms or psychopathic disorders.

Language: en