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"Mentally ill unfairly portrayed as violent"

By Kristin Houle

That's the title of an editorial that appeared yesterday in The Boston Globe, by Dr. Ronald Pies, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Tufts University. Dr. Pies cites several studies that illustrate the link (or lack thereof) between mental illness and violent behavior. Here are a few excerpts:"Writing in the Nov. 16, 2006, New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Richard A. Friedman of the Weill Cornell Medical College notes that only about 3 to 5 percent of violence in the general population is attributable to those with 'serious mental illness,' conventionally defined as schizophrenia, major depression, or bipolar disorder. The combined lifetime prevalence of these conditions in the US general population is estimated at 19 percent - far larger than their contribution to violence...continue to full post

Full post as published by Prevention Not Punishment on February 26, 2008 (boomark / email).