Jonathan Pederson
Katie Frey
Victimology
28 October 2016
Victimization of the Mentally Ill: Impact of Race
This week, I am returning to whom I’ve recently discovered is my favorite expert on victimization studies, Christina Policastro. Policastro joined Brent Teasdale and Leah E. Daigle in researching the victimization of the mentally ill, specializing on the impact race has on mentally ill victimization. The three pooled data from the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study, MacRisk. This study dived into the trajectories of mental illness victimization. The study broke up the results, among other categories, into black versus white participants. The results of the study not only broke down race but also broke down the severity of the mental illness. Depending on its severity, the experiences of both races of mentally ill participants varied greatly.
Policastro identified the key issue around researching the topic is a role reversal. Studies into the mentally ill often times look into the participants as offenders, not victims. As Policastro explains, “Traditionally, scholars have focused on the violent behavior of individuals with mental illness. Recent research has begun to consider victimization among this population, with a small body of research focusing on revictimization among individuals with major mental disorders” (Policastro). Policastro explains that the studies that have occurred showed minor significance, but were problematically completed with small sample sizes that didn’t account for the severity of mental illness. Another factor that made the studies murky was the classification of alcoholism. Whereas some studies looked into alcoholism as a mental illness, others excluded alcoholism from their studies. Policastro specifically looks into alcoholism as a form of mental illness and looks into the impact of alcohol on other participants suffering mental illness.
The best approach towards understanding the racial divide among the mentally ill is through viewing the racial divide among the general population. Just as African Americans are statistically disadvantaged in receiving aid, African Americans with mental illnesses are less likely to receive psychological aide. Though much of this can be attributed to the racial divide in proper medical care, Policastro identifies another source of the divide. As Policastro explains, “there is a considerable stigma attached to mental illness within the black community, which serves as a major barrier to formal and informal help-seeking for Black persons with mental illness” (Policastro). This would lead to Black patients denying the medicine they need.
The fear of being labeled as mentally ill is less likely in white homes than black homes, thus patients in need of assistance in those homes often times are more likely to accept the assistance. The gap closes, however, depending on the participants’ family status. The second table in the study highlights how non-married participants were nearly equally likely to turn away help while suffering a mental illness. The other impactful qualities that would be violence associated with the mental illness. The chart showed that this affected Blacks disproportionately, however, this can be explained by the conclusion stated earlier. If the stigma against mental illness prevailing in the African American community prevents a significant portion of the population from taking medication, it would be reasonable to expect that mental illnesses with violent components would disproportionally affect African Americans.
Works Cited
Policastro, Christina, Brent Teasdale, and Leah E. Daigle. "The Recurring Victimization of Individuals with Mental Illness: A Comparison of Trajectories for Two Racial Groups." Journal of Quantitative Criminology J Quant Criminol (2015): PDF.