Paul Appelbaum on the Causes of Violence

Media coverage of mass shootings in the United States often focuses on the issue of inadequate care of the mentally ill. Yet, as Paul Appelbaum, MD, points out in an interview with Massachusetts General Hospital’s Proto magazine, identifying mental illness as a primary cause of violence is misleading.

"Only about 4% of violent behavior in the United States is attributable to mental illness. Those who have mental illnesses are much more likely to be victims of violence, not perpetrators,"

says Dr. Appelbaum, the Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Psychiatry, Medicine, and Law at Columbia University Medical Center.

Dr. Appelbaum also discusses the New York State law requiring health-care workers to notify government authorities when they think patients pose a threat to themselves or others. Such laws, he says, may dissuade those who most need treatment from seeking it.

Read the full interview, or watch a video clip, at Proto magazine.