Saturday, November 11, 2017

violence - anger - mental health

Some have tried to blame the mass shootings and a lot of other violence in recent years on mental health issues in our society. But, according to Laura L. Hayes at Slate, mental health is not the problem.
Violence is not a product of mental illness. Nor is violence generally the action of ordinary, stable individuals who suddenly “break” and commit crimes of passion. Violent crimes are committed by violent people, those who do not have the skills to manage their anger. Most homicides are committed by people with a history of violence. Murderers are rarely ordinary, law-abiding citizens, and they are also rarely mentally ill. Violence is a product of compromised anger management skills.
In a summary of studies on murder and prior record of violence, Don Kates and Gary Mauser found that 80 to 90 percent of murderers had prior police records, in contrast to 15 percent of American adults overall. In a study of domestic murderers, 46 percent of the perpetrators had had a restraining order against them at some time. Family murders are preceded by prior domestic violence more than 90 percent of the time. Violent crimes are committed by people who lack the skills to modulate anger, express it constructively, and move beyond it.
Hayes quotes Paolo del Vecchio of the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration who has said, “Violence by those with mental illness is so small that even if you could somehow cure it all, 95 percent of violent crime would still exist.”
She also notes studies that show hat 80 to 90 percent of murderers had prior police records, in contrast to 15 percent of American adults overall, and that family murders are preceded by prior domestic violence more than 90 percent of the time. Nearly half of domestic murderers have had a restraining order against them at some point in time.
Laura L. Hayes puts her finger on how we are blaming the mentally ill and other factors while ignoring real causes of violence. Her final paragraph (emphasized in bold below) is wisdom worth its weight in gold:
The attribution of violent crime to people diagnosed with mental illness is increasing stigmatization of the mentally ill while virtually no effort is being made to address the much broader cultural problem of anger management. This broader problem encompasses not just mass murders but violence toward children and spouses, rape, road rage, assault, and violent robberies. We are a culture awash in anger.
Uncontrolled anger has become our No. 1 mental health issue. Though we have the understanding and the skills to treat the anger epidemic in this country, as a culture, we have been unwilling to accept the violence problem as one that belongs to each and every one of us. We have sought scapegoats in minority cultures, racial groups, and now the mentally ill. When we are ready to accept that the demon is within us all, we can begin to treat the cycle of anger and suffering.

No comments: