Premium
Homelessness, Mental Illness, and Criminal Activity: Examining Patterns Over Time
Author(s) -
Fischer Sean N.,
Shinn Marybeth,
Shrout Patrick,
Tsemberis Sam
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
american journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.113
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1573-2770
pISSN - 0091-0562
DOI - 10.1007/s10464-008-9210-z
Subject(s) - health psychology , psychology , psychiatry , mental illness , multilevel model , mental health , clinical psychology , criminal behavior , injury prevention , intervention (counseling) , suicide prevention , public health , poison control , human factors and ergonomics , medicine , medical emergency , criminology , nursing , machine learning , computer science
This study examined whether street homelessness, sheltered homelessness, and the severity of psychological symptoms predicted non‐violent and violent crime among 207 mentally ill participants who were homeless at baseline. Participants were interviewed at 9 time points over 4 years. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to examine whether changes in homelessness status and symptom severity predicted changes in criminal activity over time. Results indicated that homelessness both on the streets and in shelters and psychological symptom severity predicted increases in non‐violent crime. Sheltered homelessness and symptom severity predicted increases in violent crime, although street homelessness did not. A separate mediational analysis with 181 participants showed that the relationship between diagnosis of a psychotic disorder and both non‐violent and violent criminal activity was partially mediated through the severity of psychotic symptoms. Implications for research and intervention are discussed.