Study: Mental Illness By Itself Does Not Cause Violence

A new study of more than 34,000 adults, published in Archives of General Psychiatry, concludes that mental illness alone is not a leading cause of violence. Instead, researchers cite multiple factors in combination, namely substance abuse and a history of violent acts, that increase the danger when combined with mental illness. "Younger age topped the list. History of violence came next, followed by male gender, history of juvenile detention, divorce or separation in the past year, history of physical abuse, parental criminal history and unemployment in the past year. Rounding out the list were severe mental illness with substance abuse and being a crime victim in the past year." Read more.