Recently, considerable attention has been given to individuals labeled “mentally ill,” with the possibility that they too often go untreated with psychotropic medications and in turn, commit disproportionally higher rates of violence. The world-known television show 60 Minutes broadcasted a special on this topic in the United States on September 29, 2013; however, they created a disturbingly inaccurate picture of those who suffer with what some label as “mental illness.” There are decades of peer-reviewed research demonstrating that individuals diagnosed with severe mental illness, labeled schizophrenia, and given psychotropic medications are in fact less likely to recover from their disorder and more likely to be rehospitalized. Additionally, although mental health commitments, often called forced orders to treat, are quite common and now being supported more so due to such programming, the research on mental health commitments has not shown they are actually effective.

This article expresses the International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry’s position regarding the link between psychiatric drug use and violence. It first presents a model of human emotion and, in particular, it focuses on the emotion of anger. It notes that anger can be seen as a protective emotion that occurs when another painful emotion is too intense or chronic. Anger serves to provide the person with the power to overcome but may also result in violent behavior if not managed sufficiently. A person’s risk of acting violently depends on several risk factors. Whereas some of the risk factors are historical in nature and, therefore, cannot be changed (e.g., gender, past instances of violence, etc.), 5 factors can be managed to reduce one’s risk. Of these 5, one is the use of mind-altering substances such as alcohol, illicit drugs, and prescription drugs. The results of empirical research are also presented showing the link between psychiatric drug use, its effect on cognition, and the very negative experiences that can lead to anger, and thus, violence. The article concludes by challenging 2 counter positions that (a) only a small percentage of people are negatively affected by psychiatric drugs and (b) the benefits of psychiatric drugs outweigh any risk. It is shown that these two positions are not justified.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has profound and widespread health and economic implications at an individual, familial, and societal level. Violence risk assessment measures offer an evidence-informed approach to ascertain the degree of threat an abuser poses, transparent and defensible indicators for intervention and treatment decisions, and can be used to inform professionals, perpetrators, and victims alike regarding the nature and intensity of services required to help prevent IPV. This article summarizes the state of knowledge regarding risk assessment for IPV through a systematic examination of all English publications from westernized nations from 1990 to 2011. Three search engines—PsychINFO, ScienceDirect, and Social Sciences Citation Index—identified 3,361 potentially relevant articles. After dropping duplicates and removing articles that did not explicitly examine risk assessment for IPV, 39 articles remained. Several themes emerged: (a) There is a relatively small body of empirical evidence evaluating risk assessment measures in the context of IPV; (b) continued advancements are needed in the methodological rigor of the research; (c) investigations should expand cross-validation research to diverse samples (e.g., gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender [GLBT]; male victims/female perpetrators); and (d) an exciting development in IPV risk assessment research is evidence that risk assessments can serve to reduce risk levels (Belfrage et al., 2011). In terms of clinical implications, the review demonstrated considerable promise of several measures but generally reveals modest postdictive/predictive validity. Limited evidence for the superiority of IPV specific risk assessment measures over general violence risk assessment measures was revealed; however, this may largely be a reflection of study limitations. Given the challenges in comparing across studies and the heterogeneity of partner abusers, it seems premature to recommend one preferred assessment measure/approach to clinicians.

Applying a community-based participatory research approach and with the aim of developing a culturally competent program to reduce intimate partner violence (IPV) in the Latino population, 3 focus groups were conducted with Latino health promoters and male and female community members. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data collected on help-seeking behaviors and needed programs for IPV. Results reflect the need for more prevention and intervention programs that are consistent with Latinos’ cultural values such as their strong family and spiritual orientations. Limitations of the study are also addressed.

Partner aggression is a major public health concern. Batterers’ intervention programs (BIPs) are commonly used as an alternative to incarceration for offenders who have been arrested for domestic assault. Historically, BIPs have shown little effectiveness in reducing partner aggression. This article presents a new BIP based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT; Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999). ACT is a third-wave therapy that builds on the cognitive-behavioral tradition, focusing on increasing psychological flexibility by promoting acceptance and mindfulness processes. Several lines of evidence support the use of ACT in the treatment of partner aggression. Achieving Change Through Values-Based Behavior (ACTV; Lawrence, Langer Zarling, & Orengo-Aguayo, 2014) was developed based on ACT principles with a specific focus on feasibility and transferability to the community correctional setting and court-adjudicated treatment. ACTV incorporates experiential skills training and uses innovative methods to engage participants and teach the ACT processes. This article details the components of ACTV, including a case study to illustrate one participant’s journey through the program. We also present preliminary pilot data, which look promising with respect to reductions in domestic assault and violent recidivism.

Recent evidence suggests that victims of dating violence consume alcohol at greater rates than their nonvictimized peers, placing them at risk for the negative consequences produced by alcohol use. Thus, research that examines factors that protect victims from consuming alcohol is needed. Toward this end, the present study sought to examine whether perceived support served as a stress-buffering (moderating) variable on the relationship between dating violence victimization and alcohol problems among a sample of currently dating college students (N = 440). Partial support was found for the stress-buffering effect of perceived support, but this varied depending on the type of victimization examined. Implications of these findings for victim interventions and dating violence prevention programming are discussed.

Homelessness increases vulnerability to violence victimization; however, the precise factors associated with victimization and injury are not clearly understood. Thus, this study explores the prevalence of and characteristics associated with violence victimization among homeless individuals by surveying approximately 500 individuals experiencing homelessness in 5 cities across the United States. Our findings reveal that nearly one-half of our sample reported experiencing violence and that prolonged duration of homelessness (greater than 2 years) and being older increased the risk of experiencing a violent attack. In addition, increased length of homelessness and female gender predicted experiencing rape. Women were also significantly more likely to know one’s perpetrator and experience continued suffering after a violent attack. We conclude that certain subpopulations within the homeless population are at an increased risk for victimization and, subsequently, require added protective services; implications for health care and policy recommendations are also discussed.

Using a nationally representative sample of participants, this study investigates childhood victimization in the home and adolescent violent victimization in the community on the risk of being a victim of intimate partner violence (IPV), general violence, or both during early adulthood. The study findings indicate being left home alone and being physically abused during childhood, and adolescent violent victimization in the community had strong independent effects on an individual’s likelihood of becoming a victim of IPV, general violence, or both in early adulthood. The study findings suggest a consistent pattern of victimization across the life course, and intervention programs need to be developed that address the specific needs of children and adolescents at high risk for home and community violent victimization.

Research has documented significant relationships between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), aggression, and intimate partner violence (IPV). Most of these studies have focused on men and measured violence by self-report. This study examined (a) the association between PTSD and general aggression among women, (b) the association between IPV and PTSD among married and/or cohabitating couples, and (c) the concordance between self and collateral reports of IPV. One hundred twenty participants provided information about PTSD symptoms and general aggression toward others, and 43 married and/or cohabitating couples provided information about PTSD and IPV. Women with PTSD reported more general aggression, IPV perpetration, and IPV victimization. Collateral informants of those with and without PTSD did not differ significantly in their report of IPV. Concordance between participants and spouses or partners was low to moderate. These results are discussed within the context of extant IPV literature.