Violence and psychiatric morbidity in the national household population of Britain: public health implications.
BACKGROUND
It is unclear whether psychiatric morbidity contributes to the small proportion of the population responsible for a large percentage of antisocial behaviour, including violence.


OBJECTIVE
To measure associations between psychiatric morbidity and severity, chronicity and types of victims of violence in the national household population of Britain.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey of persons in households (n = 8397).Data included self-reported location, victims and outcome of violence over the previous 5 years. Diagnoses were determined by computer-assisted interviews.


RESULTS
Hazardous drinking was associated with over half of all incidents involving injury. Antisocial personality disorder conveyed an attributable risk of 24% of respondents reporting victim injuries, but screening positive for psychosis conveyed an attributable risk of only 1.2%.


CONCLUSIONS
The burden of care resulting from violence associated with hazardous drinking supports population interventions. Despite exceptional risks, half of respondents with antisocial personality disorder were not violent, indicating limitations in targeted interventions to detain high-risk individuals.
Coid
Jeremy
J
Forensic Psychiatry Research Unit, St Bartholomew's Hospital, William Harvey House, 61 Bartholomew Close, London ECIA 7BE, UK. j.w.coid@qmul.ac.uk
Yang
Min
M
Roberts
Amanda
A
Ullrich
Simone
S
Moran
Paul
P
Bebbington
Paul
P
Brugha
Traolach
T
Jenkins
Rachel
R
Farrell
Michael
M
Lewis
Glyn
G
Singleton
Nicola
N
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011634:Public Health; D012008:Recurrence; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology