Rates of homicide and homicide associated with severe mental illness in NSW between 1993 and 2016

2021 ◽  
pp. 000486742110400
Author(s):  
Olav Nielssen ◽  
Georgia Lyons ◽  
Katya Oldfield ◽  
Anina Johnson ◽  
Kimberlie Dean ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Kendall’S Tau ◽  
Kendall's Tau ◽  
South Wales ◽  
History Of ◽  
Previous Contact ◽  
Health Review

Objective: To describe the characteristics of offenders found not guilty on the grounds of mental illness (NGMI) in New South Wales and rates of NGMI and other homicide verdicts. Method: Demographic, legal and clinical data after referral to the NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal following an NGMI verdict for homicide matched with results from the National Homicide Monitoring Program. Results: Between 1993 and 2016, a total of 2159 homicide offenders were dealt with by the NSW courts, including 169 (7.8%) who were found NGMI. Over this period, the rate of non-NGMI homicide convictions fell from 1.83 per 100,000 per annum to 0.65 per 100,000 per annum (Kendall’s tau = −0.79, p ⩽ 0.001) while the rate of NGMI homicide fluctuated, with an average annual rate of about 0.1 per 100,000 per annum (Kendall’s tau = 0.17, p = 0.23). There was no association between the annual rates of NGMI and non-NGMI homicides (Pearson r = −0.3, p = 0.16) but falling rate of non-NGMI homicide meant that the proportion of NGMI offences doubled from 5.5% in the first 12 years to 11% in the second 12 years. Nearly all (88.7%) of those found NGMI had a schizophrenia-related psychosis. However, there were high rates of psychiatric comorbidity including substance use disorder (60.7%) and a history of a prior head injury (41.1%). Most (83.4%) of the NGMI offenders had previous contact with mental health services, but only half of these had received treatment with antipsychotic medication. Conclusion: The fall in conviction for homicide offences in the last 24 years has not been matched by a reduction in NGMI homicide verdicts. More assertive treatment of emerging psychosis and comorbid substance use disorders, and improved continuity of care of chronic psychosis might prevent some homicides.

scholarly journals Common Mental Disorders and Substance Use in School Children of Eastern Nepal

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-21
Author(s):  
P Sharma ◽  
P Sharma ◽  
N Thakur ◽  
S Sharma ◽  
M Pokharel
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Common Mental Disorders ◽  
School Mental Health ◽  
Prevalence Studies ◽  
Common Mental Health Problems ◽  
Current Scenario ◽  
History Of

Introduction: School mental health is one of the important areas where early detection can lead to appropriate early intervention and burden of disease can be minimized. There is dearth of prevalence studies of common mental disorders on school going adolescents in Nepal. Considering this we aimed to study the prevalence of common mental health problems and substance use in school going adolescents. Material And Method: We evaluated 240 students for common mental disorders (depression and anxiety) using translated version of PHQ-4 and substance use single validated question after taking consent from school authorities and assent from students. Results: It was seen that 68.8 % students had psychological distress. 22.9 % and 27.5% of students had anxiety and depression respectively on screener and 23.3% students had use of substance at least once within a year. When compared male had significantly higher number of substance use as compared to female but no difference in PHQ-4 scores were seen when compared between gender and history of substance use. Conclusion: The study shows the current scenario of school going adolescents in Nepal and highlights the need of prevalence data on more generalizable setting.

scholarly journals Latent profiles of early developmental vulnerabilities in a New South Wales child population at age 5 years

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 530-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa J Green ◽  
Stacy Tzoumakis ◽  
Kristin R Laurens ◽  
Kimberlie Dean ◽  
Maina Kariuki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Mental Disorder ◽  
Early Development ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
New South ◽  
Criminal Offending ◽  
Parental History ◽  
South Wales ◽  
History Of

Objective: Detecting the early emergence of childhood risk for adult mental disorders may lead to interventions for reducing subsequent burden of these disorders. We set out to determine classes of children who may be at risk for later mental disorder on the basis of early patterns of development in a population cohort, and associated exposures gleaned from linked administrative records obtained within the New South Wales Child Development Study. Methods: Intergenerational records from government departments of health, education, justice and child protection were linked with the Australian Early Development Census for a state population cohort of 67,353 children approximately 5 years of age. We used binary data from 16 subdomains of the Australian Early Development Census to determine classes of children with shared patterns of Australian Early Development Census–defined vulnerability using latent class analysis. Covariates, which included demographic features (sex, socioeconomic status) and exposure to child maltreatment, parental mental illness, parental criminal offending and perinatal adversities (i.e. birth complications, smoking during pregnancy, low birth weight), were examined hierarchically within latent class analysis models. Results: Four classes were identified, reflecting putative risk states for mental disorders: (1) disrespectful and aggressive/hyperactive behaviour, labelled ‘misconduct risk’ ( N = 4368; 6.5%); (2) ‘pervasive risk’ ( N = 2668; 4.0%); (3) ‘mild generalised risk’ ( N = 7822; 11.6%); and (4) ‘no risk’ ( N = 52,495; 77.9%). The odds of membership in putative risk groups (relative to the no risk group) were greater among children from backgrounds of child maltreatment, parental history of mental illness, parental history of criminal offending, socioeconomic disadvantage and perinatal adversities, with distinguishable patterns of association for some covariates. Conclusion: Patterns of early childhood developmental vulnerabilities may provide useful indicators for particular mental disorder outcomes in later life, although their predictive utility in this respect remains to be established in longitudinal follow-up of the cohort.

The health service contact patterns of people with psychotic and non-psychotic forms of severe mental illness in New South Wales, Australia: A record-linkage study

2021 ◽  
pp. 000486742110314
Author(s):  
Rachael C Cvejic ◽  
Preeyaporn Srasuebkul ◽  
Adrian R Walker ◽  
Simone Reppermund ◽  
Julia M Lappin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Emergency Department ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Severe Mental Illness ◽  
New South ◽  
Service Utilisation ◽  
South Wales

Objective: To describe and compare the health profiles and health service use of people hospitalised with severe mental illness, with and without psychotic symptoms. Methods: We conducted a historical cohort study using linked administrative datasets, including data on public hospital admissions, emergency department presentations and ambulatory mental health service contacts in New South Wales, Australia. The study cohort comprised 169,306 individuals aged 12 years and over who were hospitalised at least once with a mental health diagnosis between 1 July 2002 and 31 December 2014. Of these, 63,110 had a recorded psychotic illness and 106,196 did not. Outcome measures were rates of hospital, emergency department and mental health ambulatory service utilisation, analysed using Poisson regression. Results: People with psychotic illnesses had higher rates of hospital admission (adjusted incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.26; 95% confidence interval [1.23, 1.30]), emergency department presentation (adjusted IRR 1.17; 95% confidence interval [1.13, 1.20]) and ambulatory mental health treatment days (adjusted IRR 2.90; 95% confidence interval [2.82, 2.98]) than people without psychotic illnesses. The higher rate of hospitalisation among people with psychotic illnesses was driven by mental health admissions; while people with psychosis had over twice the rate of mental health admissions, people with other severe mental illnesses without psychosis (e.g. mood/affective, anxiety and personality disorders) had higher rates of physical health admissions, including for circulatory, musculoskeletal, genitourinary and respiratory disorders. Factors that predicted greater health service utilisation included psychosis, intellectual disability, greater medical comorbidity and previous hospitalisation. Conclusion: Findings from this study support the need for (a) the development of processes to support the physical health of people with severe mental illness, including those without psychosis; (b) a focus in mental health policy and service provision on people with complex support needs, and (c) improved implementation and testing of integrated models of care to improve health outcomes for all people experiencing severe mental illness.

scholarly journals Understanding the interplay of individual and social–developmental factors in the progression of substance use and mental health from childhood to adulthood

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 721-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany M. Jones ◽  
Karl G. Hill ◽  
Marina Epstein ◽  
Jungeun Olivia Lee ◽  
J. David Hawkins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Developmental Factors ◽  
Substance Use Problems ◽  
History Of ◽  
Individual Functioning ◽  
Family History Of Depression ◽  
History Of Depression

AbstractThis study examines the interplay between individual and social–developmental factors in the development of positive functioning, substance use problems, and mental health problems. This interplay is nested within positive and negative developmental cascades that span childhood, adolescence, the transition to adulthood, and adulthood. Data are drawn from the Seattle Social Development Project, a gender-balanced, ethnically diverse community sample of 808 participants interviewed 12 times from ages 10 to 33. Path modeling showed short- and long-term cascading effects of positive social environments, family history of depression, and substance-using social environments throughout development. Positive family social environments set a template for future partner social environment interaction and had positive influences on proximal individual functioning, both in the next developmental period and long term. Family history of depression adversely affected mental health functioning throughout adulthood. Family substance use began a cascade of substance-specific social environments across development, which was the pathway through which increasing severity of substance use problems flowed. The model also indicated that adolescent, but not adult, individual functioning influenced selection into positive social environments, and significant cross-domain effects were found in which substance-using social environments affected subsequent mental health.

scholarly journals Stigma associated with and attitude regarding mental health help-seeking among undergraduate nursing students in Karachi, Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salima Farooq ◽  
Yasmin Parpio ◽  
Saadia Sattar ◽  
Zahra Ali ◽  
Shirin Rahim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Undergraduate Nursing Students ◽  
Undergraduate Nursing ◽  
History Of ◽  
Seeking Help ◽  
The Mean

Abstract Background Globally, the prevalence of mental illness amongst university students is a major concern; same is the case with nursing students. Unaddressed mental illness stigma contributes towards hiding of symptoms hampers timely identification of the disease, and leads to reluctance in attitude towards seeking help. This study determined personal and perceived depression stigma and attitude towards help-seeking behaviors and its associated factors, among undergraduate nursing students at a private nursing institution in Karachi, Pakistan. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study by recruiting 246 first and second-Year undergraduate nursing students using consecutive sampling. Data were collected using the Depression Stigma Scale (DSS) and the Attitude toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale (ATSPPHS), along with a demographic questionnaire. Chi-square test, Fischer’s exact test and student T test were used to determine significance of difference of each response between first and second year students. Multiple linear regression was employed to determine predictors of DSS and ATSPPHS. Approval was obtained from the university’s Ethics Review Committee. Results The study findings revealed that the mean scores of the personal and perceived stigma scales were 29.7 ± 4.9 and 24.3 ± 6.1, respectively. The mean score of ATSPPHS was 16.5 ± 3.8. The participants reported a mean openness score of7.8 ± 2.6 and a value scale score of 8.7 ± 3.0. A history of psychiatric illness, current living arrangements, and personal depression stigma were found to be significant predictors of ATSPHHS. The year of study was a significant predictor of personal depression stigma whereas both years of study and the current living arrangements were significantly associated with perceived depression stigma. Conclusion Attitude towards seeking help for mental illness was significantly influenced by personal and perceived stigma. Moreover, previous history of psychiatric illness and living arrangements also predicted attitudes towards seeking help. In order to encourage positive attitudes towards seeking help for students’ well-being, it is essential to destigmatize mental health issues by adapting context-based, individualized, and group mental health interventions.

Mental Health, Substance Use, and Criminal Justice Characteristics of Males With a History of Abuse in a Swedish National Sample

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena M. Lundgren ◽  
Jan Brännström ◽  
Deborah Chassler ◽  
Catriona Wilkey ◽  
Lisa Sullivan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
National Sample ◽  
History Of

The History of Unreason

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Samuel Teague ◽  
Peter Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
Individual Responsibility ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
The Social ◽  
Health And Illness ◽  
History Of

This chapter reflects on the importance of the historical narrative of mental illness, arguing that Western countries have sought new ways to confine the mentally ill in the post-asylum era, namely through the effects of stigma and medicalization. The walls are invisible, when once they were physical. The chapter outlines how health and illness can be understood as socially constructed illustrating how mental health has been constructed uniquely across cultures and over time. To understand this process more fully, it is necessary to consider the history of madness, a story of numerous social flashpoints. The trajectories of two primary mental health narratives are charted in this chapter. The authors argue that these narratives have played, and continue to play, an important role in the social construction of mental illness. These narratives are “confinement” and “individual responsibility.” Drawing on the work of Michel Foucault and Roy Porter, the authors describe how Western culture has come to consider the mentally ill as a distinct, abnormal other.

Barriers to Practitioners' Endorsement of a Recovery Perspective

2021 ◽  
pp. 861-879
Author(s):  
Debra Kram-Fernandez
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Behavioral Theory ◽  
Meaningful Life ◽  
Health Treatment ◽  
Surgeon General ◽  
History Of ◽  
Cognitive Behavioral Theory ◽  
The Impact

This chapter is concerned with the impact of practitioner biases on the experience of a meaningful life for individuals who live with serious mental illness (SMI). Professional biases, systemic biases that originate in societal fear and lack of knowledge, and internalized stigma taken on by the consumer affect life decisions. Following a history of treatment initiatives experienced by consumers as abusive, it is important to understand how a system envisioned to protect and treat was often experienced as harmful. In the 1980s a movement emerged to transform the nature of mental health treatment to a client-centered, recovery-oriented model. In 1999, the Surgeon General proclaimed that all agencies serving this population should be recovery oriented. Yet, the shift to this approach to understanding people with SMI has not been complete. While there are many explanations why practitioners may not fully embrace this perspective, this chapter introduces the concept of “schemas” from cognitive behavioral theory as a way of examining professional biases in the field of SMI.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document