| Crime victimization is a serious public health concern among persons with severe mental illness. Prevalence of recent crime victimization is much higher among persons with severe mental illness than among persons in the general population. Although there are many reasons to suspect that persons with SMI have different patterns of victimization than persons in the general population, there are few data. This paper uses data from the Northwestern Crime Victimization Survey to examine the patterns of crime victimization in persons with SMI, and compares them to the patterns in general population, as reported in the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS).;We drew a multisite, stratified, probability sample of 906 clients of agencies providing psychiatric services to persons with SMI in Chicago. We randomly selected 16 sites from a comprehensive list of 75 agencies that provided outpatient, day, and residential treatment. Participants were randomly selected from the 16 sites; we stratified by sex, race/ethnicity, and age using demographic data reported by the Illinois Office of Mental Health (Springfield). We oversampled Hispanic persons and persons under age 25 to ensure adequate cell sizes for statistical analyses. Reported estimates were weighted to reflect the population of persons with SMI treated in Chicago.;Persons with SMI had different patterns of victimization than persons in the general population. They were more likely to be victimized in their homes or neighborhoods by persons they know, and often by the same offender. Despite higher prevalence of violent victimization than in the general population, persons with SMI were less likely to report their victimizations to the police. Moreover, their victimizations often caused an escalation of psychiatric symptoms.;This study highlights the need to develop crime prevention programs for persons with SMI and interventions designed for those who have been recently victimized. It is critical that we find ways to protect persons with SMI who will otherwise continue to suffer, in turn, increasing the psychological and financial costs to themselves and to society. |
