New report: The disconnect between mass violence and mental health

While misinformation about the role of mental illness in mass violence continues to run rampant, the truth is, there usually is no link between the two.

To boost our understanding of that important point, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s Medical Director Institute (MDI) has released Mass Violence in the United States: Definition, Prevalence, Causes, Impacts and Solutions.

The exhaustive research by MDI Co-chair Dr. Joseph Parks and his colleagues carefully examines the narrow intersection of mental health and mass violence. I hope this vital research can also sway public perceptions that so often fuel stigma.

What the data really says

Of all the data cited throughout the new report, published Dec. 10, this is among the most important: People with serious mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) are responsible for only about 4% of all violence.

Here are some of the other findings included in the report:

• The best predictor of future violence is past violence.
• People with mental illness are no more violent than the general public.
• The overwhelming majority of people with diagnosable psychiatric conditions do not engage in violent acts toward others; in fact, they are more likely to be victims of violence.

In other words, having a mental illness does not place a person at high risk of perpetrating mass violence.

Following up on earlier research

MDI tackled this important topic once before, in 2019.

"We knew we had to revisit this topic," Dr. Parks told me. "Anything we can do to support National Council members, bolster our understanding of the causes of mass violence and provide members with resources to help them moving forward has the potential to improve how we treat those with a mental health challenge."

The 2024 report is loaded with general recommendations and specific advice to inform behavioral health and primary care providers’ responses to an incident of mass violence, from individual training in threat assessments to the development of helpful services, like mobile crisis care.

It also acknowledges the need for funding to help organizations implement some of these ideas — reinforcing the importance of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs), because the prospective payment system that supports CCBHCs provides an avenue to fund the recommendations.

There are broader needs, too

The report also speaks to broader needs in so many communities. Specifically, it underscores the significance of expanding access to care: "Mass violence, to the limited extent that it is due to mental illness, may be best prevented by providing competent and comprehensive mental health care to the U.S. population (a situation that doesn’t currently exist) and, in this context, adopting a public health model of prevention," the report says.

With respect to access to care, it’s no surprise that 76% of people in the U.S. think mental health is just as important as physical health or that a recent Gallup poll found that 70% of those surveyed said they would prefer that a health care provider ask about both their physical and mental health concerns during medical appointments.

Those findings provide proof that we have opportunities to improve mental health treatment and care. Let’s hope we can also eliminate the stigma associated with mental health challenges.

Please check out the new paper by the National Council’s MDI and let us know what you think. Was it helpful? What else can we do to raise awareness and help National Council members improve their readiness for mass violence?