Toxoplasma Gondii Infection Linked to Aggression and Intermittent Explosive Disorder

A new study creating lots of both media attention and puzzled looks explores the link between psychiatric disorders, particularly those that involve aggression and irritability, and latent infection with the protozoan parasite toxoplasma ghondii (T gondii).  In hearing about this study, the first reaction of many might be why anyone bothered to look at this […]

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Antidepressants and Violent Crime in Youth

Antidepressants have carried a black box warning for years related to new or worsening suicidal behavior in children and young adults. A possible link, however, between SSRIs and other types of violent behavior has been more difficult to identify with studies finding inconsistent results. A recent large Swedish study, recently published in the journal PLOS […]

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Prevention Study Shows Promise in Reducing Psychopathology and Crime

One of the “Holy Grails” of psychiatry is the ability not only to treat existing behavioral problems effectively but to prevent them.  This task has proven challenging but remains the focus of many given the extraordinary human and financial costs associated with chronic psychopathology and criminal behavior.  Some people have become somewhat pessimistic about this […]

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The Link Between Adolescent Psychiatric Disorders and Crime

Are people with mental illness more likely to commit crimes?  This question has been studied and discussed for decades, fueled by movies of deranged serial killers.  For years, the conventional wisdom was that, despite the hype, individuals who suffer from psychiatric disorders are no more likely than anyone else to commit a crime. More recently, […]

Youth Incarceration Down, Lowest in Vermont

The number of children and adolescents (under age 21) who are incarcerated has been steadily dropping since the mid-1990s according to a report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation that presents data from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.  The 2010 national rate of 225 youth per 100,000 is […]