Annotated Bibliography

I am interested in the topic oI the public misconception that the mentally ill are more
likely to be involved in violent crime than the general population because oI my experiences
with the issue. I know how easy it is to blame mental illness as the cause oI a crime when in
reality outside causes are the reason. There is a stigma behind what we believe mental illness is;
we immediately think oI these people as deIective, or as having something wrong with them that
makes them so much diIIerent Irom ourselves. My research revolves around where the public
misconception begins and other possible causes that explain why rates oI violence are slightly
higher in this population. I hope to also clariIy some misconceptions about the mental illness,
such as what exactly it is and also explain why the mentally ill are more at risk to be victims oI
violent crime than the general population.

"Mental illness and violence." Harvard Mental Health Letter. 27.7 (2011): 1-3. Web. 27 Oct.
2011.
http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.nd.edu/ehost/pdIviewer/pdIviewer?siddcd3bI37-9aI3-
4040-bee0-42I1662bb52csessionmgr114&vid5&hid111~.
My Iirst source is an article Irom the Harvard Mental Health Letter called Mental Illness
and Violence. The source`s audience is other proIessionals to make helpIul inIormation about
recent health studies available. It is not meant to be used to diagnose any mental or health
problems, but helps keeps readers up to date. It is written by board members associated with
Harvard Medical School. It will be helpIul to use in my paper because it supports a lot oI my
argument regarding outside Iactors being a large part oI why the mentally ill can be violent. For
example, there was a study mentioned where the statistics Ior crime rates in schizophrenia and
bipolar patients were Iound to be signiIicantly above the control group, but when this same group
was compared to their siblings the diIIerence became smaller. This helps prove that genetics or
social environment played a key role in these people becoming violent.
Larkin, Ralph. Comprehending Columbine. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2007.
This source is Comprehending Columbine by Ralph Larkin. The book analyzes the
Columbine high school shooting involving two high school boys who aIter committed suicide.
The source`s audience is the people who want to know why the shooting happened. It explains
the shooter`s mentality, planning, and even the social structure at the school where it occurred.
Its purpose is to clariIy and try to explain what happened and why with the shooters, since what
the media showed us can be misinterpreted or not give enough detail. I think that this book will
be a good source because I`m looking to give an example oI a highly reported violent act. I hope
to prove that since cases like this are what people are seeing, it warps what they think about the
mentally ill because they wrongly assume that all oI the mentally ill are like the people they see
reported.
"LiIetime Prevalence oI Gender-Based Violence in Women and the Relationship with Mental
Disorders and Psychosocial Function." JAMA: The journal oI the American Medical Association
306.5 (2011): 513. Print.
This source is LiIetime Prevalence oI Gender-Based Violence in Women and the
Relationship With Mental Disorders and Psychosocial Function. This article discusses the link
between mental illness and abusive relationships Ior women. A possible purpose oI it is to help
inIorm people about mental illness and abusive relationships in order to help prevent protect
these women Irom Iurther abuse and to raise awareness about the issue. It is about a study, so it
reveals the results oI the study to the public and those in the Iield who will Iind this inIormation
useIul. It will be useIul to my paper because I would like to argue that the mentally ill are
actually more likely to be victims oI violence, which this article supports. I`d like to use this
article in conjunction with my article about general crime against the mentally ill. I think the two
will highlight each other because this one gives a more speciIic example oI violence while the
other gives an overview.
Harrell, Ph.D., Erika. "Crime Against Persons with Disabilities, 2008-2010-Statistical Tables."
National Crime Victimization Survey. (2011): n. page. Web. 3 Nov. 2011.
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdI/capd10st.pdI~.
This source is Irom the National Crime Victimization Survey, perIormed by the U.S.
Department oI Justice. It was made because oI an act created to raise awareness about the
victimization oI the disabled. It is laid out by summarizing what the research was and what some
oI the prevalent Iindings were. Next it shows all oI the data that was collected in table Iormat. I
think this source will be useIul to me because not only does it give concrete statistics that the
mentally ill are more victimized by violent crime than the general population, but it also gives a
Iew speciIic examples oI what the victimization was, such as assault, rape, and robbery. As
mentioned earlier, it could be interesting to use this source closely with the one about mentally ill
women and abusive relationships.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual oI Mental Disorders : DSM-IV. Washington, D.C. : American
Psychiatric Association, 1994. Print.
This source is the DSM-IV, a book that is by many considered to be the 'bible in
psychology. It is used by proIessionals not only to aid in diagnosing mental illnesses but also to
help outside sources (like insurance agencies) understand the needs oI a patient. I think this is a
very useIul source because it is greatly trusted by many proIessionals, and it will be helpIul in
deIining the illnesses I talk about in my paper. This source gives inIormation; it does not give an
opinion. I would like to link it especially to statistics I use, because some oI them are very
speciIic with what illnesses they are talking about, such as one that talks speciIically about
schizophrenia. It will easily give background inIormation and support to many oI my sources. It
will be helpIul Ior the readers to know the diIIerences between the mental illnesses I talk about.
Gibbon, Simon, Michael Ferriter, and Conor Duggan. "A Comparison OI The Family And
Childhood Backgrounds OI Hospitalised OIIenders With Schizophrenia Or Personality
Disorder." Criminal Behaviour & Mental Health 19.3 (2009): 207-218. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 1 Nov. 2011.
This source is an article that talks about the relationship between Iamily upbringing and
psychotic disorders, speciIically schizophrenia and personality disorders. Its purpose is to
present inIormation, but also to help identiIy causes oI violence in order to help with recovery
and treatment Ior the mentally ill. This source will be useIul Ior my argument concerning other
causes Ior the slight increase in violence in the mentally ill population. It also may be able to
relate to my source on Columbine, because in that book it talks about other causes besides
mental illness explaining the actions oI the boys. It does contrast my source showing that the
mentally ill are usually victimized, but I think I can argue that the same pattern exists in the
regular population. There will always be people committing crimes and there will always be
victims, regardless oI whether the sample oI people looked at are mentally ill or not.
JeIIrey Swanson, et al. "Recent Victimization In Women And Men With Severe Mental Illness:
Prevalence And Correlates." Journal OI Traumatic Stress 14.4 (2001): 615-632. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 3 Nov. 2011.
This source is additionally on the correlations between mental illness and abuse. Its
purpose is to Iind connections between contexts oI diIIerent abusive situations to hopeIully Iind
solutions and help with prevention eIIorts. It Iound that sexual assault was highly prevalent in
both males and Iemales with mental illnesses, much higher than that oI the general population.
This source will be good to use with my source about mentally ill women in abusive
relationships because it adds another Iacet to that argument, not only showing the sexual aspect
directly but also proving that men are also not saIe Irom being victimized. It presents
inIormation about the issue not only in tables oI data, but it also gives background inIormation
on other similar studies. I Iound the background inIormation helpIul so I think that besides the
raw data I will use some oI the ideas that were mentioned in the research prior to the experiment.