The Myth Of Mental Illness And Gun Violence

http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddessig/2014/06/28/the-myth-of-mental-illness-and-gun-violence/

"Random gun violence is a terrifying fact of American life, because of both the violence and the randomness. Terror bred by violence does not really require comment; they are twinned. But terror bred by randomness does, especially when it leads people to accept as true a reasonable story that is false, when a myth functions as an explanation. And that is what is happening with the way we talk about mental illness and random gun violence. Thankfully, a just published report in the Annals of Epidemiology pulls together the facts we need to consider if we really want to adopt evidence-based policies to reduce random gun violence.

"The article, “Mental illness and reduction of gun violence and suicide: bringing epidemiologic research to policy,” is a comprehensive, critical survey of the available data (and it is surprisingly accessible and well-written for an academic treatise). It concludes that “most violent behavior is due to factors other than mental illness.” Adding deep sadness to the terror, it finds that “psychiatric disorders, such as depression, are strongly implicated in suicide, which accounts for more than half of gun fatalities.” It also outlines the behavioral risk factors that are associated with random gun violence.

"More on those findings in a moment. First I want to note that the article is fighting an uphill battle. Whether it be global warming, vaccinations, health-insurance or basic economics, a respect for data often takes a back seat to ideology in policy debates. Our public discourse is often a fact-free zone. "

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"The Actual Risk Factors

"There are behavioral risk factors associated with random gun violence, risks that cut across the presence of absence of a serious mental illness. This where the article recommends regulatory attention. The article states: “Categories of persons prohibited from firearms on a temporary basis should be expanded to include individuals convicted of a violent misdemeanor, subject to a temporary domestic violence restraining order, convicted of two or more offenses for driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in a period of 5 years, or convicted of two or more misdemeanor crimes involving a controlled substance in a period of 5 years. Focusing on these and other known and identifiable risk factors as the criteria for limiting firearm access, rather than relying primarily on existing status-based mental health criteria, will more effectively target those who are likely to be a danger to others or themselves.”


More at link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddessig/2014/06/28/the-myth-of-mental-illness-and-gun-violence/

The study: http://www.annalsofepidemiology.org/article/S1047-2797%2814%2900147-1/fulltext