{"title":"From Fear to Framework: Toward Understanding of Violence and Mental Illness.","authors":"Tyler Durns","doi":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250038","DOIUrl":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250038","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73036,"journal":{"name":"Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing)","volume":"24 1","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13003241/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147640764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"High Stakes: Forming Rapport for Risk Assessment of a Radicalized Individual.","authors":"Dorothy E Stubbe","doi":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250039","DOIUrl":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250039","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73036,"journal":{"name":"Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing)","volume":"24 1","pages":"69-72"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13003239/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147640683","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Anabolic Androgenic Steroids: Emerging Use Disorder, Mechanisms of Action, and Clinical Considerations for Pharmacotherapy.","authors":"Eric Kutscher, Elena Silverman, Keren Bachi","doi":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250045","DOIUrl":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250045","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are synthetic versions of testosterone that are frequently used as performance-enhancing drugs. Over the past few decades, these drugs have become more popular and readily available through online clinics and retail outlets. At the same time, increasing evidence has demonstrated their addictive potential and the likely emergence of an AAS use disorder. In addition to their impact on reward pathways, which is similar to that of other addictive substances, AAS have an addiction-related unique mechanism involving hormonal dysregulations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis that frequently result in long-term post-use hypogonadism, prompting patients to develop tolerance and continue to use AAS despite harms. In caring for patients with a likely AAS use disorder, a multidisciplinary care team is needed, including professionals in the fields of psychiatry, addiction medicine, and endocrinology, to screen for and treat body or muscle dysmorphia (if present) and hypogonadism, and to mitigate unwanted consequences of AAS use by using primary care and harm-reduction methods.</p>","PeriodicalId":73036,"journal":{"name":"Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing)","volume":"24 2","pages":"168-178"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13120777/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147790893","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Extremism, Terrorism, and Mental Disorder.","authors":"J Reid Meloy","doi":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250033","DOIUrl":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250033","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The nexus between mental disorder and terrorism has long confounded both clinicians and researchers. Data indicate that approximately one-third of lone-actor terrorists will be diagnosed as having a mental disorder on clinical interview, but members of a terrorist group typically have neither more nor less mental disorder diagnoses than the general population. Other notable problems for the psychiatrist are distinguishing between symptoms of mental disorder and extremist beliefs, discerning radicalization and a pathway to violence in a psychiatric patient, and identifying the proximal warning behaviors that suggest a heightened probability of violence toward a targeted individual or group. Steps toward clarification of these various issues through measurement and mitigation of risk are offered.</p>","PeriodicalId":73036,"journal":{"name":"Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing)","volume":"24 1","pages":"53-58"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13003250/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147640675","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Violence Risk Factors in Psychiatric Populations.","authors":"Ashley H VanDercar, Phillip J Resnick","doi":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250028","DOIUrl":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250028","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Over the past 20 years, there has been increasing recognition that certain psychiatric diagnoses increase violence risk. This increase is nuanced, multifactorial, and variable. The risk attributable to serious mental illness accounts for only a small fraction of violent acts. There is much more impact from other risk factors, such as substance misuse. Many such factors increase risk, regardless of psychiatric diagnosis. Some factors are uniquely associated with psychiatric populations, such as a history of suicide attempts, antipsychotic medication nonadherence, and past hospitalizations. This article details recent data on violence risk factors and protective factors for psychiatric populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":73036,"journal":{"name":"Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing)","volume":"24 1","pages":"2-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13003253/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147640684","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ethical and Legal Aspects of Forensic Psychiatry.","authors":"Jacob M Appel","doi":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250034","DOIUrl":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250034","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73036,"journal":{"name":"Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing)","volume":"24 1","pages":"65-68"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13003236/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147640706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Use of Illicit Substances and Violent Behaviour in Psychotic Disorders: Two Nationwide Case-Control Studies and Meta-Analyses.","authors":"Jelle Lamsma, Wiepke Cahn, Seena Fazel","doi":"10.1176/appi.focus.26024106","DOIUrl":"10.1176/appi.focus.26024106","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Substance use disorder explains much of the excess risk of violent behaviour in psychotic disorders. However, it is unclear to what extent the pharmacological properties and subthreshold use of illicit substances are associated with violence.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Individuals with psychotic disorders were recruited for two nationwide projects: GROUP (<i>N</i> = 871) in the Netherlands and NEDEN (<i>N</i> = 921) in the United Kingdom. Substance use and violent behaviour were assessed with standardized instruments and multiple sources of information. First, we used logistic regression models to estimate the associations of daily and nondaily use with violence for cannabis, stimulants, depressants and hallucinogens in the GROUP and NEDEN samples separately. Adjustments were made for age, sex and educational level. We then combined the results in random-effects meta-analyses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Daily use, compared with nondaily or no use, and nondaily use, compared with no use, increased the pooled odds of violence in people with psychotic disorders for all substance categories. The increases were significant for daily use of cannabis [pooled odds ratio (pOR) 1.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-2.0), stimulants (pOR 2.8, 95% CI 1.7-4.5) and depressants (pOR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1-4.5), and nondaily use of stimulants (pOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2-2.0) and hallucinogens (pOR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1-2.1). Daily use of hallucinogens, which could only be analysed in the NEDEN sample, significantly increased the risk of violence (adjusted odds ratio 3.3, 95% CI 1.2-9.3).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Strategies to prevent violent behaviour in psychotic disorders should target any substance use.</p>","PeriodicalId":73036,"journal":{"name":"Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing)","volume":"24 1","pages":"99-104"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13003234/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147640676","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Contextualizing Violence Risk Associated With Hallucinogens.","authors":"Tyler Durns, Greg Iannuzzi","doi":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250027","DOIUrl":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250027","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) have remerged as agents of psychiatric and cultural relevance. However, public discourse has outpaced empirical understanding of their effects. Although hallucinogens have demonstrated a potential to treat certain mental disorders, their effect on aggression and violence risk remains inconclusive. This article reviews the historical, medical, legal, and cultural contexts of these popular psychedelic and entactogenic compounds. The impact of substance type, dose, set and setting, psychiatric comorbidity, and environmental factors on violence is reviewed. Prevention and response strategies relevant to hallucinogenic compounds are discussed, including harm reduction, risk assessment, and treatment. Individual risk factors that mediate violence risk for people who consume psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA remain an area for further research.</p>","PeriodicalId":73036,"journal":{"name":"Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing)","volume":"24 1","pages":"17-26"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13003254/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147640680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Opportunities for Sexual Violence Prevention: Mitigating the Likelihood to Perpetrate.","authors":"Andra Teten Tharp","doi":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250024","DOIUrl":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sexual violence among adolescents and adults is a significant health and safety issue. Identifying and mitigating risk factors for sexual violence perpetration is central to preventing these acts before they occur. Substantial work has examined the risk for recidivism among known sexual offenders. To complement that work, this literature synthesis focuses on risk indicators among nonadjudicated and first-time adolescent and adult perpetrators. This synthesis is intended to support clinical practice by providing an overview of the magnitude, burden, and developmental course of sexual violence victimization and perpetration. Across rigorous studies, strong support suggests that adversity or abuse during childhood, perpetration during adolescence, fraternity membership, unhealthy peer norms, and peer approval for sexual violence during college-paired with impulsivity and/or a hostile view of women-are associated with a higher likelihood of sexual violence perpetration. Risk for perpetration can be offset by providing social support and parental monitoring and by increasing empathy during adolescence. In addition, variation in perpetration patterns over time exists, suggesting the need for developmentally focused prevention approaches.</p>","PeriodicalId":73036,"journal":{"name":"Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing)","volume":"24 1","pages":"27-34"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13003237/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147640750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Susan Hatters Friedman, Joshua B Friedman, Renee M Sorrentino
{"title":"Child Homicide, Child Maltreatment, and Maternal Mental Illness: A Review.","authors":"Susan Hatters Friedman, Joshua B Friedman, Renee M Sorrentino","doi":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250036","DOIUrl":"10.1176/appi.focus.20250036","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mothers and fathers kill their children at similar rates, making filicides (child murders by parents) unique among homicides. In this article, the authors focus on maternal mental illness, child maltreatment, and homicide. Nearly all neonaticides (murder in the first day of life) are committed by young women acting alone. Most filicides in the general population are due to fatal child maltreatment; however, among perpetrators who are found legally insane, altruistic motives predominate. Mental illness intersects with the phenomena of neonaticide and filicide. Personality disorders, untreated mental illness, poor attachment, and substance use disorders may elevate risk. Filicide and child maltreatment are relevant to psychiatrists because they may coexist with mental illnesses. Psychiatrists, both in reproductive psychiatry and general psychiatry, should carefully consider risks and resources for their patients who are parents.</p>","PeriodicalId":73036,"journal":{"name":"Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing)","volume":"24 1","pages":"45-52"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13003258/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147640588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}