BACKGROUND: Media representation of violence by @entity1 with @entity146 tends toward images of random, serious violence to strangers. Studies of general @entity146 @entity1 do not support this representation, but include few cases of serious or homicidal violence. This study describes the relationship of mentally disordered offenders to victims of an attack that was serious enough to result in the offender's detention in a high-security hospital. Hypotheses tested were that perpetrators of stranger violence would be more likely than those targeting @entity1 they know to be male, nonwhite, and younger and have a violence history and less likely to have @entity716 features. METHOD: A clinical register and record study of all @entity1 with an index offense of interpersonal violence who were resident in English high-security hospitals Jan. 1, 1993, to June 30, 1993, was conducted. RESULTS: Among 887 @entity1 and 88 @entity1 , 33% had attacked strangers. After adjustment for the high proportion of @entity1 in this male-dominated population, @entity1 were still more likely than @entity1 to have attacked strangers. There was no independent association between stranger victimization and perpetrator's age, ethnic group, or violence history. Stranger victimization was, however, more likely to have been committed by those with @entity1314 than those with @entity716 . The most serious violence and homicide were more likely to be against intimates than strangers. CONCLUSION: Among @entity1 selected for high risk to the public, high rates of stranger victimization would be expected. The rates appeared, however, only slightly higher than in other reported @entity1 samples and lower than in an untreated sample. The safety of @entity1 close to such @entity1 urgently needs improvement.

XXXX and serious violence: the victims.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['women', 'patients', 'patient', 'people', 'men'] @entity1314 :: ('MESH:D010554', 'Disease') :: ['personality disorder'] @entity716 :: ('MESH:D011605', 'Disease') :: ['psychotic', 'psychosis'] @entity146 :: ('MESH:D001523', 'Disease') :: ['psychiatric', 'mental disorder']
@entity146 :: (MESH:D001523,Disease) :: ['Mental disorder']
