Relationship of Mental Disorder to Violent Behavior in the United States, 1983-1984 (ICPSR 9973)
Version Date: Jan 12, 2006 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
James J. Collins, Research Triangle Institute;
Susan L. Bailey, Research Triangle Institute;
Charles D. Phillips, Research Triangle Institute;
Amy Craddock, Research Triangle Institute
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR09973.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
This study investigates the relationship between mental disorder and violent behavior. Detailed interviews were conducted with inmates in the North Carolina prison system. Each respondent was given a psychological assessment using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, Version III. Conditions of particular interest were schizophrenia, mood disorders (depression and dysthymia), traumatic stress disorder, and alcohol disorders. The data supply information on the respondent's criminal history, psychological status at the time of interview, and history of rule infractions while incarcerated for the current offense. In addition to the psychological assessment, questions were also asked covering areas of general health status, criminal history, and drug and alcohol use. Demographic information includes age, education, marital status, and race.
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Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Distributor(s) View help for Distributor(s)
Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)
Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
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A collection of SAS programs is available to create composite variables used in making the psychological assessments. The programs are available in hardcopy form only, upon request from ICPSR. Two Logical Record Length versions of the data are available. The first contains one record per case with a maximum line length of 5,455. The second, which is PC-compatible, contains six records per case with a maximum line length of 950.
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
The Research Triangle Institute conducted this study to investigate the relationship between mental disorder and the propensity to engage in violent behavior. This work continues a stream of research on mental disorder and violence. However, in contrast to previous research, the authors gathered data on specific mental disorders. Interviews were conducted with male felons recently admitted to the North Carolina prison system. A major focus of the interviews was a detailed psychological assessment of each respondent. This was accomplished by use of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, Version III, and specialized computer software. Attention was given to conditions such as schizophrenia, mood disorders (depression and dysthymia), traumatic stress syndrome, and alcohol disorders. The authors investigated the relationship between these disorders and violent behavior occurring before an inmate's current incarceration. In addition, the authors gathered data to explore the relationship between mental disorder and an inmate's behavior while incarcerated. The dataset is comprised of both self-report data and criminal records.
Study Design View help for Study Design
Interviews were conducted at the five reception centers that process all male felons entering the North Carolina prison system. Interviews were conducted within a few days of the inmates' arrival by 14 professional survey interviewers and lasted approximately 90 minutes each. In order to make a psychological assessment of each respondent, the National Institute of Mental Health's Diagnostic Interview Schedule, Version III (DIS-III) was used in the interviews. The DIS-III was designed to be used by nonclinical personnel to aid in making psychiatric diagnoses. Official records were obtained detailing each respondent's arrest history prior to the current incarceration and rule violations while in prison subsequent to the current incarceration.
Sample View help for Sample
Male prisoners entering North Carolina prisons between March and June 1983.
Universe View help for Universe
Male criminal offenders in the United States.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Source View help for Data Source
personal interviews, and arrest and incarceration records
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
A major portion of the interviews was devoted to gathering data for a psychological assessment of each respondent. Psychological conditions of interest were schizophrenia, mood disorders, traumatic stress syndrome, and alcohol disorders. Additional topics covered in the interviews included general health status, criminal history, drug and alcohol use, and demographic information. Arrest records provided information on the nature and timing of previous police contacts.
Response Rates View help for Response Rates
A total of 1,327 inmates were eligible to be interviewed. Interviews were completed with 1,149 inmates (86.6 percent). Those not interviewed include 10.2 percent who refused to participate, 2.6 percent who were transferred before interviews could be conducted, and 0.6 percent who could not be interviewed because of physical, mental, or language limitations. Inmates who were not interviewed tended to be older and to have more serious criminal histories than those who were interviewed.
Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales
None.
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
1993-10-02
Version History View help for Version History
- Collins, James J., Susan L. Bailey, Charles D. Phillips, and Amy Craddock. Relationship of Mental Disorder to Violent Behavior in the United States, 1983-1984. ICPSR09973-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1993. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR09973.v1
2006-01-12 All files were removed from dataset 3 and flagged as study-level files, so that they will accompany all downloads.
Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.