Research Paper on Psychopathy and Mental Illness in Forensic Psychology

Introduction

Mental illness is assumed to be a common factor among criminal offenders. It is generally assumed that people with mental illness are likely to commit a crime. However, many researchers have focused on this issue and have found differing opinions regarding this view. Criminals with mental illness are highly represented in the judicial systems and many people use the illness as a possible excuse for committing a crime. In psychology, the analysis of the mental illness and its relation to crime helps to determine the possibility that people with mental illness are more likely to commit a crime than those without it. The relationship between psychiatric results and crime is weak and cannot be used in law to make a general assumption. The aim of the researchers to establish the percentage of crimes that are as a result of mental disorders. The symptoms of bipolar disorder, depression, and psychosis are associated with a significant percentage of crimes.

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Overview of the Issue

The criminal justice system in the United States is committed to reducing crime levels and discouraging people from committing a crime in the country. However, the efforts to reduce crime require more than incarceration and prisons. More and more people with mental illness are arrested each year and this worsens their mental health condition. The criminal justice system does not have the necessary resources to offer treatment to these people and this makes the situation worse. Depression is a common reason why people commit homicide and other similar offenses. Research by Bales, Nadel, Reed and Blomberg (2017) shows that there are about 700,000 inmates in the US jails who suffer from different mental disorders. The number keeps increasing because more victims get arrested each year. The same research found out that there is a high risk of the released people to commit a crime again. Therefore, incarceration may not be the best solution to reducing crime in the country.

It is also evident that mental health is s challenge in the United States criminal justice system and it requires a long-lasting solution to solve. Some of the offenders with mental illness die in the prisons or fail to change even after their jail terms due to the ineffectiveness of the jails in giving them the solution they require. Criminal recidivism in the world remains high and most of the governments and mental health experts are working on the best ways to reduce it (Fazel and Wolf, 2015). In recent years, the focus has shifted from the effectiveness of the jails ion reducing recidivism to the impact of mental health treatment. In the analysis done in this essay, the focus is to determine the frequency of crimes committed as a result of mental illnesses.

The relevance of the Topic to Forensic Psychology

Forensic psychology creates a bridge between the study of psychology and the law. It helps to identify how psychotic conditions are related to the crime rate and the solutions that can reduce the rate of crime. Mental illness is a common challenge and some victims are not aware of their condition until they get involved in crime. Forensic psychology helps the criminal justice system to determine if the crime committed is as a result of the mental illness or otherwise. Therefore, the first relevance of the topic in forensic psychology is to determine the possibility that people with a mental disorder are more likely to be in custody than those who do not. The other relevance is to show the connection between criminal recidivism and mental disorders. It is believed that people who have mental illnesses are likely to have a high rate of recidivism in crime (Yukhnenko, Sridhar, & Fazel, 2019). The research on this topic gives a clear view of the frequency of mental health victims who get involved in crime. The other relevance is that forensic psychology is a dynamic area and requires regular updates. The research helps to identify the areas that require changes or updates to ensure its efficiency. For example, it identifies the current rates of recidivism and how the criminal justice system has upgraded its efficiency in dealing with mental disorders. The research on this topic also provides the relevant authorities with advice on how to assist people who suffer from mental illnesses in jails and other correction areas.

Summary of the Research

The research conducted was on the need to expand diversity in human behavior and the law and how psychotic disorders are related to crime. It also included the perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes that people have towards people with mental disorders. Research by Peterson, Skeem, Kennealy, Bray, and Zvonkovic (2014) indicate that there is a weak connection between crime and psychotic disorders. Most of the criminals do not have any mental illness. Others have mental disorders but it does not contribute to their possibility of committing a crime. The same research stated that about one million people in the United States are under correctional supervision and this includes jails. The criminal justice system does not have adequate measures to deal with the ones that have mental disorders. Even though the number is small, there is a need to create mechanisms to ensure justice in dealing with mental health victims.

The first concern in the research is how often crime occurs as a result of mental illnesses. The research sought to determine the likelihood of mental disorder patients committing a crime motivated by the disorder. The other concern was how a direct relationship is defined in law and how this affects the judicial processes. From this, the researchers wanted to determine if the direct relationship is efficiency defined in law. In this area, the researchers analyzed how the law defines a mentally ill person and the instances in which such a person is acquitted of their charges based on their mental illness. The research also focused on the differences between traits and symptoms and the consistency in which mental illness is associated with criminal behavior.

The research done in this area is affected by the low levels of transparency and consistency. There are many researchers and the results are usually diverse. According to McAuliff et al. (2019), research in psychology and mental illnesses require high accuracy and better management of the way researchers collect data. The current research aimed at establishing the deficiencies affecting the sector and how to achieve the best outcomes. The legal structures that guide research in law and human behavior also need updating to ensure there is consistency, efficient access to information and valid research outcomes. The hypothesis of the research done by Peterson, Skeem, Kennealy, Bray, and Zvonkovic (2014) was that the symptoms of bipolar disorder, psychosis and depression are responsible for about 10% of the criminal cases in the United States. The assumption is that the same is likely to be observed in other parts of the world. It is likely that most of the people with mental disorders are stigmatized and viewed as potential criminals. The perceptions have seen many patients get arrested for petty issues and locked up in prisons for matters that could be resolved without getting jailed.

The other summary of the research indicates that even after decades of research on psychopathy, there are still many unclear issues about it. It is still unclear how psychopathy is related to criminal behavior. For that reason, many of the psychopaths are assumed sane and responsible for their actions in the justice system. It means that psychopathy is not taken as an excuse for the wrong behavior in people. The research was done by interviewing people in the correction centers and in the judicial system. For example, research was done in Midwestern city where 143 offenders with mental illnesses were interviewed for two hours each. Seven research assistants were trained to collect data and record it. The data collected were presented in tables and graphs for easy analysis (Peterson, Skeem, Kennealy, Bray & Zvonkovic, 2014). In a similar way, the research done by Smith, Edens, Clark, and Rulseh (2014) used interviews but the number of participants was 404. Data was collected and presented in tables and graphs for easy analysis. The findings of the research done are valid because the methods used to collect and analyze data were also valid. The peer-reviewed sources also increased the validity of the research. The research questions used were open-ended and open ones.

The Discovery and Conclusions Made

After the analysis of different sources of data, it was evident that there are many factors that affect the perceptions held in the criminal justice system about mental illnesses and crime. The first discovery was that many people with mental illness are assumed to be more likely to commit crime than those who are not suffering from any mental disorder. Due to this perception, many of them are arrested and charged, with many of them ending up in the correction areas. The other discovery is that incarceration worsens their mental illnesses. Once they are locked up in jails, their depression and psychopathy increases and they need a better solution than incarceration. The other discovery is that most of the people in the criminal justice system do not know the difference between traits, symptoms and actual disorders. There is also a concern that the direct relationship between mental illnesses and crime is not well-defined in law. The conclusions made from the research is that psychopathy and mental illness are largely misunderstood and this affects the victims of these illnesses. Therefore, more research, change of policies, and creation of awareness are required to increase the efficacy and effectiveness of the criminal justice system and to safeguard the rights of psychopaths and victims of mental disorders.

Personal Insights

There is an increased rate of crime in the world today and mental illnesses are also on the rise. Although the above research does not give a complete relationship between the two, it shows a possible correlation that cannot be ignored. According to the views of Kennedy-Hendricks, Huskamp, Rutkow, and Barry (2016), there are ways in which victims of mental disorders can be assisted to stay away from crime. The government of the United States should adopt such ways and implement them widely to reduce the current bias in the system. It is also necessary to educate the public on the best ways to handle people with mental illnesses. Stigmatization and prejudice are common among the victims and this affects the ease with which they access help. For example, mentally ill people are mistreated and treated as potential criminals in society. The last insight is that most of the researchers focus on the mental illnesses that are commonly known and that there is a need to analyze more disorders and determine their relationship with the rate of crime.

Conclusion

Mental illness and psychopathy affect the criminology processes in many different ways. The concern of many researchers is mainly on the relationship between the two and the measures taken to ensure that the victims of mental disorders are safe and not mistreated. The analysis above indicates there are several gaps that need attention and that there are many victims in the correction areas because of the bias in the criminal justice system. Most of the people regard the mentally-ill people as criminals and they treat them like so. The interviews conducted by the researchers revealed the connection and the perceptions that surround the issue. In the future, research should focus on the solutions to ensure the victims of mental disorders get justice and are free from stigma. The research outcomes above show...