Abstract
Background: Association between violence and mental disorders has contributed immensely to the stigma associated with mental illness in the society; because people erroneously see mentally ill individuals as dangerous, they will not want to associate with them. Aims: To assess the prevalence and pattern of psychiatric disorders among a sample of the violent offenders and to examine any relationship between psychiatric disorders and crimes. Method: This was a two-phase cross-sectional study in three police stations in Ile-Ife/Modakeke area of Nigeria. In the first phase, we screened 400 consecutive adults arrested for violent crimes using the General Health Questionnaire—30. In the second phase, all 36 persons with probable psychopathology were then interviewed with the Present State Examination to make a definitive diagnosis. Results: The mean age of all the subjects was 29.9 years (SD ± 7.3). The male to female ratio was 11:1. Respondents were mostly single (54%); most had secondary education or less (82%) and about 60% were currently using psychoactive substances (drugs). About 8.5% of all the subjects had a diagnosable psychiatric disorder; paranoid schizophrenia was the commonest psychiatric disorder (41.2%). Mentally ill subjects were three times more likely to commit homicidal offence than non-mentally ill subjects. Conclusion: There exists a significant but weak relationship between mental illness and violent crimes.
Highlights
The belief that mental illness is associated with violence is common and cuts across cultures [1]
Among respondents who agreed to the use of at least one psychoactive substance 74% had a specific psychiatric diagnosis (Table 2)
The finding in this study that majority of the subjects were young adult males is in keeping with earlier findings both in Nigeria and in other parts of the world [15] [28] [29]. Males predominate among those arrested for violent crimes, this finding agrees with the notion that violent crime is a predominantly male activity, the younger males [29]
Summary
The belief that mental illness is associated with violence is common and cuts across cultures [1]. Other empirical studies have suggested that violence and mental illnesses are only weakly associated and that apparent relationship may be coincidental [6]. Notwithstanding such suggestion, there are some support in the literature for the assumption that there is a moderate but reliable association between mental disorders and violence [7] [8]. This increased risk of violent behaviour is clearly evident for specific psychiatric diagnoses and symptom constellations. Conclusion: There exists a significant but weak relationship between mental illness and violent crimes
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
