Mental illness alone is no trigger for violence

By Carla K. Johnson

"A new large U.S. study challenges the idea that mental illness alone is a leading cause of violence."

"Researchers instead blame a combination of factors, specifically substance abuse and a history of violent acts, that drives up the danger when combined with mental illness in what they call an 'intricate link...'"

"But when mental illness was combined with a history of violence and a history of substance abuse, as in about 1,600 people, the risk of future violence increased by a factor of 10..."

Full article available at http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_11618359