The authors extend frustration-aggression theory to hypothesize that increasing frequency of layoffs has countervailing influences on violence depending on how many people lose jobs compared to how many fear job loss. The authors offer a model that estimates the net effect of these processes on the incidence of violence in a community. The model specifies a parabolic function in which small increases in layoffs are associated with increased incidence of violence, but large increases are associated with reduced incidence. The model was tested with time-series methods by using weekly data from San Francisco. The independent variable was initial claims for unemployment compensation; the dependent variable was civil commitments for behavior that is dangerous to others. The model fit the data for both men and women. Implications of the model for economic policy and the provision of preventive services are discussed.

The causes and course of mental illness inextricably tie a psychiatric emergency service to the overall mental health system and to events in the community it serves. These connections make it possible for managers to anticipate the use of emergency services and to detect disruptions in the remainder of the mental health services systems.

Extension of frustration-aggression theory suggests both the "provocation hypothesis" (laid-off workers are at elevated risk of psychogenic violence) and the "inhibition hypothesis" (workers who fear job loss will be at reduced risk of such violence). Previous research found that both hypotheses were supported with data indexing layoffs and the incidence of civil commitment for danger to others in San Francisco County, California, for the 52 weeks beginning August 1, 1993. Whether those results generalize to other times and places has not been determined. We elaborated the theory and replicated the test in San Francisco for the 149 weeks beginning August 1, 1994, and ending June 7, 1997. We also replicated the test using data from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, for the 111 weeks beginning January 1, 1996, and ending February 28, 1998. The original results from San Francisco County are replicated for men in both communities. The results for women are replicated for the new and more extended period in San Francisco County but not in Allegheny County. Scientific and social policy reasons for continued study of economic conditions on aggressive behavior are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 28:233-247, 2002.

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The present study performed confirmatory factor analysis across major racial and ethnic groups of the BASIS-32, a measure of functional status of persons receiving mental health treatment and suitable for routine assessment mental health care. The purpose was to perform a preliminary investigation of cross-cultural equivalence in a county-level mental health program in a major metropolitan area. The results indicated a factor structure similar to that reported in the literature, and they suggested acceptable levels of agreement in structure between racial and ethnic minority groups and whites. The study revealed little reason to believe that the BASIS-32 varied in underlying structure across racial and ethnic boundaries, although further research is indicated.