The excellent Time to Change initiative is quick to point out that people with mental health problems are more likely to be the victims of violence than the perpetrators. However, it remains the case that certain mental health conditions are more frequently associated with antisocial behaviour and violence than others. Personality disorders (PD) are one [read the full story…]
Risk assessment tools are widely used in psychiatric hospitals and criminal justice systems to help predict violent behaviour and inform sentencing and release decisions. Yet their predictive accuracy remains uncertain and expert opinion is divided, according to a new systematic review published in the BMJ. An international team of researchers led by Seena Fazel from [read the full story…]
The mental health needs of victims of violence are going unrecognised and there is a lack of joined-up services to support their needs, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists. People who are injured in or affected by physical violence, including sexual violence, are at risk of developing mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress [read the full story…]
Studies show that over 1.6 million people are killed as a result of violence each year and it is thought that this estimate is considerably less than the actual number who die from assaults. Violence in inpatient hospital settings and emergency departments is the subject of a NICE guideline that is currently being updated. A [read the full story…]
People with disabilities are reported to be at increased risk of violence. Mencap’s stand by me campaign to end disability hate crime suggested that as many as 9 out of 10 people with a learning disability have been a victim of hate crime and bullying. The authors of this review and meta analysis set out [read the full story…]
The public perception of mental health and violent behaviour has often been influenced by poor media coverage and a focus on specific crimes committed by people with psychosis. There’s a nice summary of work in this area on the Mind website, which includes a number of enlightening stats, including this one: The fear of random [read the full story…]
Despite what you read in the tabloid press, the vast majority of people with mental health problems are not violent. However, when violence does occur in hospitals, it’s important that healthcare professionals know how to manage the situation. This new systematic review has been conducted by a team of Italian researchers who searched a range [read the full story…]
Researchers in the south east of England set out to look at the experiences of violence at work in of staff in community learning disability teams. Following a brief survey sent to six such teams, the experiences were explored further in a series of in-depth interviews with a sub-sample of respondents. The survey suggested that [read the full story…]
