What is it about?
Some behaviors, like substance use, increase violence risk - particularly when someone also has a mental illness. These are known as violence risk factors. This paper details which risk factors increase, or decrease, violence risk in psychiatric populations.
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Why is it important?
Many of the things that are historically seen as risk factors are in fact anecdotal. This paper updates readers on research from the past five to ten years, detailing which factors are backed in data.
Perspectives
The relationship between violence and mental illness is complex. Most violent acts are not due to mental illness. Many risk factors, such as substance use, increase violence risk broadly, regardless of psychiatric diagnosis. However, some factors are particularly associated with mental illness - such as first episode psychosis and antipsychotic medication nonadherence. This distinction is important.
Dr. Ashley VanDercar
Case Western Reserve University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Violence Risk Factors in Psychiatric Populations, FOCUS The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry, January 2026, American Psychiatric Association,
DOI: 10.1176/appi.focus.20250028.
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