People With Severe Mental Illness More Likely To Be Victims Than Perpetrators Of Violence

Intense media coverage of violence perpetrated by people with mental disorders-such as the April, 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech-has unintentionally reinforced a common public misconception: mental illness equals violence. However, more than a decade of research has shown that the equation is not so straightforward. Research has also shown that focusing on people with mental illness who commit public acts of violence has obscured the fact that persons with mental disorders are more often victims of physical assaults, rape, and robbery.