Neurocognition and Social Cognition Training as Treatments for Violence and Aggression in People with Severe Mental Illness

Chapter 21 - Neurocognition and Social Cognition Training as Treatments for Violence and Aggression in People with Severe Mental Illness

from Part IV - Nonpsychopharmacological Treatment Considerations

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 October 2021

Mackenzie T. Jones and

Philip D. Harvey

Edited by

Katherine Warburton and

Stephen M. Stahl

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Katherine Warburton: Affiliation:
University of California, Davis
Stephen M. Stahl: Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego

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Summary

There is a wide-ranging belief that people with severe mental illnesses (SMI) are violent or dangerous. Most patients with schizophrenia are not chronically aggressive or violent; among patients with schizophrenia, there is a small increase in violence and violent offending on average compared with general population standards in the USA and Europe. However, violence on the part of people with SMI has several features that differentiate it from violence in the general population. First, it is less likely to be motivated by financial reasons. Second, it can be unpredictable and directed toward strangers. Not being financially motivated, it is more challenging for the general public to avoid.

Type: Chapter
Information: Decriminalizing Mental Illness , pp. 221 - 230

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108920698 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2021

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