Mental disorder and violent behavior: Perceptions and evidence.

Throughout history and in all known societies, people have believed that mental disorder and violence were somehow related. The consensus of modern scholarly opinion, however, has been that no such relationship exists. Recent epidemiological studies cast doubt on this no-relationship position. Evidence now indicates that mental disorder may be a consistent, albeit modest, risk factor for the occurrence of violence. Denying that mental disorder and violence may be in any way associated is disingenuous and ultimately counterproductive. Dire implications for mental patient advocacy, for mental health law, and for the provision of mental health treatment need not follow from candidly acknowledging the possibility of a limited connection between disorder and violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Violent storms and violent people: How meteorology can inform risk communication in mental health law.

Meteorology is often thought of as a field with highly developed techniques for forecasting rare and severe events. Risk assessment of another type of rare and severe event—violence to others—occurs in mental health law. The analogy between these 2 forms of risk assessment is explored in this article. How meteorologists go about assessing the risk of harmful weather is described. Implications from the meteorological analogy are drawn for 1 aspect of violence prediction that is routinely ignored in mental health law: the communication of risk "forecasts." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Violent behavior and differential WAIS characteristics.

Used Q-factor analytic techniques to analyze the WAIS profiles of 30 17-73 yr old white males recently admitted to a maximum security unit for the criminally insane at a midwestern state hospital. The 15 Ss incarcerated for commission of violent crimes tended to have similar subtest score configurations. Subsequent investigation indicated that these WAIS profiles could be described as a simple ratio of the Similarities score to the total of all 11 subtest scores. The mean Similarities ratio score for the violent group was significantly lower than that of the nonviolent group in both the original and cross-validation samples. Results indicate the potential value of research efforts that simultaneously evaluate measures of related deficits in abstract reasoning, left temporal lobe dysfunctioning, and violent behavior on the same Ss. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Violent behavior and differential Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children characteristics.

WISC data were obtained from 18 violent juvenile offenders. Similarities ratio was compared with the score from a random subsample of 18 juveniles from a larger population of 200 offenders. There was a significantly lower Similarities ratio for the violent group when compared with the random subsample. The reported relationship between violent behavior and low Similarities subtest scores in adults did not hold for the violent Ss. However, the general relationship of a lower Similarities ratio for violent delinquent juveniles when compared with the general delinquent population was found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exposure to violent media: The effects of songs with violent lyrics on aggressive thoughts and feelings.

Five experiments examined effects of songs with violent lyrics on aggressive thoughts and hostile feelings. Experiments 1, 3, 4 and 5 demonstrated that college students who heard a violent song felt more hostile than those who heard a similar but nonviolent song. Experiments 2-5 demonstrated a similar increase in aggressive thoughts. These effects replicated across songs and song types (e.g., rock, humorous, nonhumorous). Experiments 3-5 also demonstrated that trait hostility was positively related to state hostility but did not moderate the song lyric effects. Discussion centers on the potential role of lyric content on aggression in short-term settings, relation to catharsis and other media violence domains, development of aggressive personality, differences between long-term and short-term effects, and possible mitigating factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Articulated thoughts of maritally violent and nonviolent men during anger arousal.

The cognitive correlates of anger arousal were investigated in community-based samples of maritally violent (MV), maritally distressed-nonviolent (DNV), and maritally satisfied-nonviolent (SNV) husbands. Participants performed the Articulated Thoughts in Simulated Situations (ATSS) paradigm while listening to anger-arousing audiotapes. Trained raters coded for irrational beliefs, cognitive biases, hostile attributional biases, and anger control statements. Results indicated that MV men articulated significantly more irrational thoughts and cognitive biases than DNV and SNV men. MV men articulated more hostile attributional biases than DNV and SNV men across all ATSS scenarios. SNV men, however, articulated more anger control statements during ATSS anger arousal than MV or DNV participants. Discriminant function analyses indicated that specific thoughts discriminated between the groups and differentiated mildly from severely violent Ss. ATSS cognitive distortions (a) were not correlated with questionnaire measures of cognitive distortion, and (b) were superior to questionnaire measures in discriminating between the groups. The findings are interpreted in light of recent advances in understanding the relationship between information processing, anger, and marital aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychiatric hospitalization of adolescents for conduct disorder

OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to review current published literature on the psychiatric hospitalization of adolescents with a diagnosis of conduct disorder. METHODS: The English-language literature from 1980 to 1991 cited in the MEDLINE database was searched using the key words conduct disorder, adolescent psychiatric hospitalization, psychiatric hospitalization criteria, adolescent psychiatric inpatient hospitalization, and adolescent psychiatric admissions. RESULTS: A diagnosis of conduct disorder or presenting symptoms and behaviors consistent with that diagnosis are commonly reported for adolescent psychiatric admissions. Estimates of the percentage of admissions to psychiatric inpatient treatment facilities of adolescents with conduct disorder or symptoms consistent with that disorder range from 30 to 70 percent. There are no research-based criteria for hospitalization of adolescents for conduct disorder, and systematic studies of the outcome of psychiatric hospitalization for this group have not been published. Comorbid psychiatric diagnoses and similar behavioral symptoms in conduct disorder and comorbid disorders complicate inpatient treatment of adolescents with conduct disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Studies of the outcome of psychiatric hospitalization of adolescents for conduct disorder are needed to determine the appropriate use of this modality.     

Social connections and suicidal thoughts and behavior.

Disrupted social connectedness is associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors among individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs). The current study sought to further characterize this relationship by examining several indices of social connectedness—(a) living alone, (b) perceived social support, (c) interpersonal conflict, and (d) belongingness. Participants (n = 814) were recruited from 4 residential substance-use treatment programs and completed self-report measures of social connectedness as well as whether they had ever thought about or attempted suicide. Multivariate results indicated that interpersonal conflict and belongingness were significant predictors of a history of suicidal ideation, and that belongingness, perceived social support, and living alone were significant predictors of suicide attempt. These results indicate the most consistent support for the relationship between suicidality and thwarted belongingness, and also support the clinical utility of assessing whether individuals live alone. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuropsychological deficits, learning disability, and violent behavior.

Examined the relationship between neuropsychological functioning, learning disability, and violent behavior in 110 Ss solicited from 2 prison facilities. Ss were administered the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery. 60 Ss were also administered the Wide Range Achievement Test and Arithmetic, Vocabulary, Block Design, and Picture Arrangement subtests from the WAIS. Results indicate that (a) violent offenders tended to have serious neuropsychological deficits and that (b) Ss classified as brain damaged had a significantly higher rate of violent criminal activity than did the non-brain-damaged group. Findings are consistent with previous physiological research. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Managing the violent patient: A guide for psychologists and other mental health professionals.

Being threatened, harassed, attacked, or confronted by a patient with a weapon is becoming more common and is likely to occur at some point in a mental health professional's career. Effective violence management programs can reduce the incidence of violence. Yet, few resources have been provided to assist psychologists and other mental health professionals to deal with aggressive patients. The authors offer strategies for the management of aggressive behavior that can be implemented to empower practitioners to take precautions when necessary in a quick and efficient manner when dealing with violent and potentially violent patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dangerousness: Assessing the risk of violent behavior.

Results of discriminant analyses for identifying dangerous inpatients and prison inmates are presented. Analysis of a hospital sample (N?=?100) yielded a discriminant function containing 5 variables, which was 85% accurate in classifying the sample. Analysis of a prison sample (N?=?100) yielded a discriminant model with 6 variables, which was 72% accurate in classifying the sample. Stepwise discriminant analysis of the combined hospital and prison derivation sample (N?=?200) yielded a discriminant function containing 8 variables, which was 75% accurate in classifying the sample as dangerous or nondangerous. It was concluded that the derived population-specific (i.e., hospital or prison) models constitute empirically valid measures of dangerousness for the populations studied. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical attractiveness and self-perception of mental disorder.

Prior research has reported a relation between physical attractiveness and severity of mental disorder, with less attractive people being more maladjusted. However, because these two variables have been measured simultaneously, it has not been possible to separate cause from effect. To clarify this question, in this study we first measured physical attractiveness, social competence, and perceived risk of developing a mental disorder in 280 college women. Seven months later, we measured the subjects' self-perception of having a mental disorder. Women who were more attractive were higher in social competence and lower in perceived risk of mental disorder. More attractive women were also lower in self-perception of mental disorder 7 months later. This relation between attractiveness and self-perception of mental disorder remained significant even after controlling for the Time 1 measures (social competence, perceived risk of mental disorder, and age). The implications of these findings for the hypothesized role of attractiveness in the determination of adjustment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dialectical behavior therapy for binge eating disorder.

This study evaluated the use of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) adapted for binge eating disorder (BED). Women with BED (N=44) were randomly assigned to group DBT or to a wait-list control condition and were administered the Eating Disorder Examination in addition to measures of weight, mood, and affect regulation at baseline and posttreatment. Treated women evidenced significant improvement on measures of binge eating and eating pathology compared with controls, and 89% of the women receiving DBT had stopped binge eating by the end of treatment. Abstinence rates were reduced to 56% at the 6-month follow-up. Overall, the findings on the measures of weight, mood, and affect regulation were not significant. These results support further research into DBT as a treatment for BED. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validating female psychopathy subtypes: Differences in personality, antisocial and violent behavior, substance abuse, trauma, and mental health.

Recent empirical investigations utilizing male prisoners have begun to validate clinical conceptualizations of primary and secondary psychopathy subtypes. We extended this literature by identifying similar psychopathic subtypes in female prisoners on the basis of personality structure using model-based cluster analysis. Secondary psychopaths (n = 39) were characterized by personality traits of negative emotionality and low behavioral constraint, an early onset of antisocial and criminal behavior, greater substance use and abuse, more violent behavior and institutional misconduct, and more mental health problems, including symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and suicide attempts. Primary psychopaths (n = 31) exhibited few distinguishing personality features but were prolific criminals especially in regards to nonviolent crime, and exhibited relatively few mental health problems despite substantial exposure to traumatic events. The results support alternative etiological pathways to antisocial and criminal behavior that are evident in personality structure as well as gender similarities and differences in the manifestation of psychopathic personalities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Applying persuasion strategies to alter HIV-relevant thoughts and behavior.

Health communication strategies are at the core of both mass media campaigns and public health interventions conducted at the community level concerning the prevention of HIV/AIDS. They are often nested in complex contexts that prevent us from being able to identify the persuasive impact of a specific message. The authors attempt to account for an array of factors contributing to the persuasiveness of messages about HIV. The aim is to synthesize the psychological literature on persuasion and thus provide a conceptual framework for understanding message effects in HIV communications. This discussion concerns fear appeals, message framing, tailoring, cultural targeting, and additional factors pertaining to the message, source, and channel of the communication. Whenever possible, recommendations for further research are formulated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure of mental plans for following directions.

Outlined a general framework for understanding how people construct mental plans for carrying out written directions. In the framework, it is assumed that (a) a mental plan consists of a hierarchy of action schemas, (b) the hierarchy is constructed by beginning with the schema at the top level of the hierarchy, and (c) plan construction goes on concurrently with other reading processes. Predictions made on the basis of this framework were confirmed in 2 experiments involving undergraduates. In Exp I, Ss were timed while they read and carried out simple directions such as "Press button B while light X is on." Directions were read more quickly when they began with the action ("Press button B") than when they began with either the antecedent or the consequence of the action ("while light X is on"). In Exp II, this effect was reversed by changing Ss' prior knowledge of what they were supposed to do. A 3rd experiment showed that these results are specific to the task of reading and carrying out the directions; they did not occur when Ss recalled the sentences. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and mental control: The resurgence of unwanted negative thoughts.

In three experiments we examined depressed individuals' mental control abilities and strategies. Experiment 1 revealed that although depressed college students were initially successful in suppressing negative material, they eventually experienced a resurgence of unwanted negative thoughts. Analysis of subjects' stream-of-consciousness reported indicated that this resurgence was associated with the use of negative thoughts as distracters from the unwanted item. In Experiment 2 depressed subjects acknowledged that positive distracters were more effective than negative ones in suppressing negative thoughts. This acknowledgment suggests that depressed subjects in Experiment 1 did not deliberately focus on negative distracters but that depressed subjects' use of positive distracters could be increased somewhat when we provided such distracters and made them easily accessible. Taken together, the findings suggest that depression involves an enhanced accessibility of interconnected negative thoughts that can undermine mental control efforts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting violent behavior from WAIS characteristics: A replication failure.

Attempted to replicate the findings of M. W. Kunce et al (see record 1976-10022-001) on an index for predicting violent behavior derived from differential WAIS characteristics. The present study, with 16 violent and 10 nonviolent psychotic White males, found that, in contrast with the Kunce et al findings, violent Ss earned higher Similarities Ratio scores than did nonviolent Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)