“Mental Illness and Gun Violence: Disrupting the Narrative” AND More on Best 5 Monday Reads

Hello!

I hope you guys had a nice and refreshing weekend. Lets start our busy week ahead with Best of 5 Reads 🙂

1) Mental Illness and Gun Violence: Disrupting the Narrative

Mental illness receives prominent attention in the U.S. dialogue on gun violence, despite evidence showing that most people with mental illness are never violent and most gun violence is not caused by mental illness (“violence” refers here and throughout to interpersonal violence, not suicide). Messages linking mental illness with violence increase social stigma, which contributes to low treatment rates and other negative outcomes among people with mental illness.

Nonetheless, mental illness continues to be a central topic in gun violence debates such as the one prompted by the February 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Why does the narrative of mental illness as a major cause of gun violence persist, and how can it be disrupted?

Whats the evidence?

The estimated one-year population-attributable risk of interpersonal violence associated with mental illness is 4%, meaning that approximately 96% of all gun violence incidents in the United States are caused by factors other than mental illness.

2) Veteran Suicide Rate Still Rising

Suicide rates increased among veterans from 2005 to 2015, according to the latest national suicide data from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), released this week.

3) Dialectical Behavior Therapy—A Highly Effective Treatment for Some Adolescents Who Self-harm

Self-harm is a highly common behavior in adolescents, which is associated with future attempted suicide, completed suicide, and onset of mental illness. It is associated with significant distress (both as a cause and as an outcome) and social impairment. It is therefore essential that we provide effective treatment. Self-harm is a hazardous behavior that can occur in young people with any mental disorder and in young people with no psychiatric diagnosis.

This demonstrates the need for specific treatments aimed at adolescent self-harm, which may confer additional benefits, on top of treatments aimed at the underlying disorder. This is particularly true for young people who do not meet strict criteria for any psychiatric illness but do have impairing self-harm.

4) Night Owls May Have Higher Depression Risk

Morning people were less likely to develop depression than night owls, a new study found.

5) Depression More Severe, Persistent in the Elderly

Previous research has suggested that in older adults, rates of depression may be higher and prognoses worse. This study confirms these findings and shows them to be independent of psychosocial or health factors.

Thank you very much and see you tomorrow for more articles.

Best Regards,

Vikram

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