Posted by Tomatheus on October 5, 2015, at 16:16:26
In reply to Re: Shooters and Psychiatry, posted by hello321 on October 5, 2015, at 14:56:12
> It is true that fewer violent crimes are being committed by folks diagnosed and treated for depression. And that's great. But that's like pointing out that fewer crimes are being committed by African Americans in a city consisting of 80% Caucasians, if a higher percentage of African Americans have committed violent crimes in this city. Of course it is no good to judge anyone before you know them. And if a non-violent person is being singled out by anyone as a factor in the crime rate, that helps no one.
The data that Dr. Grohol presented in his blog didn't just indicate that fewer violent crimes are committed by individuals with mental illnesses because those with mental illnesses are in the minority. The data indicated that individuals with mental illness are less likely (than those without a mental illness) to be perpetrators of violence: "According to the Congressional Research Service ... the prevalence rate of mental illness in the U.S. in any given year is 18.5 percent. If only 3 to 5 percent are carrying out violent acts, that means a person with mental illness is one-third less likely to be a perpetrator of violence!"
Do you think that what Dr. Grohol presented was incorrect? And if you do think that what he presented was incorrect, could you explain why?
I don't think that mental illnesses and the medications used to treat them are never a factor in violent crimes. But I think that one of the points that Dr. Grohol and others are trying to make (which I agree with) is that mental illness isn't a big player when it comes to violence in the U.S. and that thinking that changing the mental health system will lead to significant reductions in violent crime is faulty thinking. In his original post to this thread, Bleauberry identified poorly managed psychiatric care and the targeting of individuals in gun-free zones as big players in mass shootings. But if Dr. Grohol is right, and most of the perpetrators of the recent mass shootings had no history of mental illness, then it seems that mental illness isn't really such a big player when it comes to the mass shootings and other violent crimes.
Again, I'm not saying that mental illness and the medications used to treat such illnesses don't ever contribute to violent crimes. It's definitely a problem that the treatment of mental illness is as unsuccessful and problematic as it is, and I think that if evidence-based ways of improving the treatment of mental illness come along that they ought to be implemented as quickly as possible. But I think that it would be erroneous to say that one of the biggest reasons why we have so many mass shootings today is because of problems associated with mental illnesses and the treatment of such illnesses.
Tomatheus
"I need you to show me
The way from crazy
I wanna be so much
More than this"- Jimmy Eat World
poster:Tomatheus
thread:1083163
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20150929/msgs/1083241.html