Mentally ill people do not commit more crimes than anyone else. However, they are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, and substance abusers commit more violent crime, according to a new study from Europe.
- Dr. Seena Fazel analyzed records that went back thirty years of 8,000 people with schizophrenia and 3700 who have bipolar disorder.
- All participants lived in Sweden.
- The main finding of the study was "the relationship between violent crime and serious mental illness can be explained by alcohol and substance abuse. If you take away the substance abuse, the contribution of the illness itself is minimal."
People with mental illness who abuse substances have crime rates six to seven times higher than the general population. However, this rate is the same for all substance abusers.
"It's probably more dangerous walking outside a pub on a late night than walking outside a hospital where patients have been released," said Dr. Fazel, a lecturer and psychiatrist at the University of Oxford in Great Britain.
This study appears in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Labels: violence, mental_health, drug_use, substance_abuse, alcohol_abuse
Posted By: Jane St. Clair