Mental Illness And Violence In The Media

In recent years, people with mental illness and violence have received widespread of news media coverage. Specifically, the aftermath of violent act is often viewed as a gateway of opportunity to support negative attitudes toward people with mental illness. The new media portrayal acts of violence committed by individuals with mental disorders appear to play a critical role in influencing negative perceptions toward individuals with mental illness (McGinty, Webster, & Barry, 2013). When a person commits ruthless acts of violence, speculations about their mental health from the public are never far behind. Research suggests that violent acts can increase mental illness stigma, strengthen stereotypes that people with mental disorders are aggressive

For the purpose of this article, media sources only include electronic and local Canadian newspapers. This article examines how the media news manipulates the topic of people with mental illness and violence, the public attitudes toward persons with mental illness, and psychiatric nursing implications and interventions involving mental health promotion and mental disorder prevention. In general, it is easy to assume that violent behavior is connected to mental disorders. If the behavior is ruthlessly violent, like in mass shootings, than the perpetrator must certainly be mentally ill. According to the DSM-5, the definition of mental disorder is a “syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in individual’s cognition, emotion, regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental processes underlying mental functioning” (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013, p. 20). Furthermore, mental disorders are associated with “significant distress or disability in social, occupational, or other important activities” (APA, 2013, p. 20). Researches show violence by people with mental illness, like schizophrenia or bipolar

The newspaper article claimed the Calgary shooter, David McQueen, to be “desperate”, and was suffering from “obvious and serious mental illness” (CBC News, 2016). According to McQueen’s son, Justin, McQueen was a loving and dedicated dad, but suffered from depression and was quadriplegic. McQueen was stuck in his wheelchair with no proper home care. The newspaper article claimed McQueen suffered from “obvious, and serious mental illness” due to his paranoid fears of his computer and phone were being monitored by authorities, and his belief that his neighbors were conspiring against him (CBC News, 2016). Two days later, another article released from CBC news was published with an interview with McQueen’s son, Justin, who said McQueen was suffering from depression after his tragic incident. Conversely, the article on January 25, 2016 stated that McQueen was suffering from “obvious and serious mental illness”; however, according to his son, Justin, McQueen was suffering from depression due to his tragic incident. This can lead readers to false beliefs, confusion, and misunderstanding of what mental illness is. The lack of knowledge that the media and the public has on mental illness often results in people diagnosed with mental disorders being stigmatized and discriminated against. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), the majority of people who are