Violent Offences, Mental Disorder and Substance-use Disorders

Comorbidity of substance use and mental disorders.

INTRODUCTION Comorbidity is a term defined as the presence of two or more conditions occurring either at the same time or having a close relationship to the same individual. World Health Organization (WHO) define it as the "co-occurrence in the same individual of a psychoactive substance use disorder and another psychiatric disorder". Progressive deinstitutionalisation, despite indisputable ben...

Violent and nonviolent suicide in veterans with substance-use disorders.

OBJECTIVE Substance-use disorders (SUDs) increase the risk of suicide. Examining risk factors for violent or nonviolent suicide in those with SUDs could improve suicide-prevention efforts in these individuals. We examined the demographic and clinical predictors of violent and nonviolent suicide among patients with SUDs. METHOD This study examined Veterans Affairs (VA) patients with SUDs who w...

Responding to comorbid mental disorders and substance use disorders

Comorbidity of mental disorders and substance use disorders is common. Furthermore, comorbidity is often associated with poor treatment outcome, severe illness course, and high service utilisation. This presents a significant challenge with respect to the identification, prevention and management of people with comorbid disorders. The unmet need for treatment within this group is considerable, ...

Violent thoughts and violent behavior following hospitalization for mental disorder.

Using a standardized schedule of questions, this study examined (a) the prevalence of self-report of violent thoughts by patients hospitalized for mental disorders compared with nonpatients, (b) the persistence of violent thoughts after discharge, and (c) the relation between patients' violent thoughts while hospitalized and violent acts within 20 weeks after hospital discharge. About 1/3 of th...

The Epidemiology of Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Disorders