Risk Reduction in Mental Health

Individuals with a major mental disorder are at heightened risk of committing acts of violence, being victimized by others, and harming themselves. These adverse outcomes – and the factors that contribute or mitigate them – are known to be interconnected. However, there hasn’t been a coordinated research platform that addresses all three outcomes together and identifies how different risk and protective factors affect each of these outcomes individually, and in combination, over time.

This team will link together researchers across BC and around the world to identify the most important dynamic risk and protective factors for violence, and determine the best techniques to measure and analyze their change over time. Because many individuals with a major mental disorder also have problems related to substance use, the team will also assess the relationship between mental health, substance use and violence.