Violence Among the Mentally Ill

Paper Summary:

This report investigates violence among the mentally ill and the general population under the assumption that the data revealed will show that there are equal levels of and propensities for violence in these populations, despite media and other sources, which suggest to society that the mentally ill are somehow naturally more prone to violence and drug use than the general population.

Outline
Formulation of Hypothesis
Consideration of Needs, Interests, and Resources
Selection of Hypothesis
Testing of Hypothesis
Samples and Sampling
Controls
Ethical Problems
Plans for Analysis of Results
Collection of Data
Classification, Organization, and Tabulation of Data
Analysis of Data
Conclusions and Practical Applications

From the Paper:

"The data shows similar rates of violence between the general population and the mentally ill population, and what appears to be statistically significant increases in drug and alcohol abuse in the general population compared to the mentally ill population. This follows, in part, the hypothesis that suggested equality, but also breaks from this hypothesis in that there is an imbalance in the substance abuse reportage between groups. "Some earlier studies, based solely on arrest records, found that increased rates of violence among the mentally ill.
However, researchers have noted that substance abuse often
accompanies violent acts by individuals with or without psychiatric disorders" (Bower, 1998). Also interestingly, in the above results there were no visible connections between violence and drug use in individuals: those who showed signs of violence did not show signs of drug use, and vice versa."

More papers on Violence Among the Mentally Ill:

• Research Paper # 137042 : "Criminal Justice: Mental Illness and Crime"
• Term Paper # 122823 : "Mental Illness and Violence"
• Research Paper # 111290 : "Violence in School"

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