The Social Construction of Dangerousness: Perceived Violence and Social Distance toward People with Mental Illness

• In Event: Medical Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 5. Mental Health

Abstract

Public discourse frequently equates mental illness with dangerousness, despite epidemiologic evidence showing that most individuals with psychiatric disorders do not engage in violence. Using a nationally representative factorial vignette experiment (N = 5,368), this study examines how diagnostic labels, causal attributions, and physician treatment recommendations shape expectations of violence and, in turn, social distance. Structural equation modeling distinguishes perceived violence toward others from violence toward self. Schizophrenia and substance-use disorders elicited elevated expectations of interpersonal violence, whereas all diagnoses increased expectations of self-directed violence. Crucially, only expectations of violence toward others predicted greater social distance. Genetic and trauma explanations reduced expectations of interpersonal violence, with trauma exerting the strongest effect. Medication reduced perceived violence in most contexts but attenuated the destigmatizing effect of a trauma attribution when paired together, indicating that medical cues operate flexibly. Psychotherapy had no effect. Stigma appears anchored in perceived interpersonal threat rather than severity of suffering, underscoring the social construction of dangerousness.

Authors

• Marta Elliott, University of Nevada-Reno

• James M Ragsdale, University of Nevada, Reno