Psychosis and homicide

Abstract

Criminal homicide is, fortunately, uncommon in most countries. Homicides by people with psychosis are so rare that they do not rate mention in the 2013 United Nations Global Survey of Homicide. This may account for the limitations to much research for this group. Despite some homicide-specific evidence of advantage for early intervention for psychosis, impact of improving treatment - the most promising way forward - will generally have to be inferred from the not entirely satisfactory surrogate of effects of treatment on violent offending more generally.

Violence and mental disorders: a structured review of associations by individual diagnoses, risk factors, and risk assessment

“…16 In individuals with psychotic illnesses who commit homicide, around 40% do so during the first episode of illness prior to treatment initiation. 17 Individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders typically represent less than 10% of all homicide convictions, [18][19][20][21] although a higher prevalence of 10-20% has also been found in studies incorporating information from forensic psychiatric evaluations. 22,23 Studies typically exclude cases of murder-suicide, though where included, this will underestimate prevalence as it relies on prior contact with services to establish the presence of mental disorder.…”

Intra- and extra-familial child homicide in Sweden 1992–2012: A population-based study

“…There are compelling data suggesting a link between mental illness and violence, including homicidewith regard to both victims and offenders (Bennett et al, 2011;Fazel, Långström, Hjern, Grann, & Lichtenstein, 2009;Rodway et al, 2014;Taylor & Kalebic, 2018;van Dorn, Volavka, & Johnson, 2012). For instance, in a Swedish study, 90% of individuals who had committed homicide or attempted homicide had at some time been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder (Fazel & Grann, 2004), and high rates of mental illness have also been noted in other countries (Golenkov et al, 2016;Martone et al, 2013).…”

Mass murder is not a mental health matter

“…• People with mental illness rarely commit homicide, and few homicides are committed by people with mental illness. About 5% of homicides are committed by people with psychotic conditions (Taylor & Kalebic, 2018). • People with serious mental illness are far more likely to be victims than perpetrators (Teplin, McClelland, Abram, & Weiner, 2005).…”

“…• People with serious mental illness are far more likely to be victims than perpetrators (Teplin, McClelland, Abram, & Weiner, 2005). • Most mass murders are committed by people who are not seriously mentally ill 1 (Taylor & Kalebic, 2018) including: ○ Terrorists ○ People who commit purposeful acts of murder or manslaughter or who commit crimes that result in unintended deaths ○ Perpetrators of domestic violence ○ People seeking revenge ○ And more 2 (Teplin et al, 2005; U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime, 2014)…”