The Complex Relationship: Mental Illness and Criminality Analysis

This essay delves into the complex relationship between mental illness and criminality, a topic often debated and sensationalized. It begins by acknowledging the common public perception linking mental illness to violence and crime, particularly in the wake of high-profile incidents like school shootings. The essay argues that while there is a partial relationship, criminality does not necessarily presuppose mental illness. It then explores psychological theories of criminality, including the role of social experience and biological dispositions, as well as cognitive patterns that may lead to criminal behavior. The essay discusses various psychological factors, such as lack of psychological development, learned aggression, Freudian theory (id, ego, superego), and behaviorist theory, and the association between psychological disorders (e.g., antisocial personality disorder) and violent behaviors. The conclusion emphasizes that mental illness is only one factor contributing to criminal actions, and organized crimes such as human trafficking and terrorism cannot be attributed solely to mental illness. It asserts that the relationship between criminality and psychological illness is only a part of the broader issue, not the entire picture.

Running head: MENTAL ILLNESS AND CRIMINALITY
Mental Illness and Criminality
Student’s name
University
Author’s note

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MENTAL ILLNESS AND CRIMINALITY
Introduction
The relationship between mental illness and violence is inexplicably intertwined as per
the common public perception. However, the relationship between mental illness and criminality
is still an issue of debate and scholarly discussion. In the light of repeated instances of school
shootings, the matter has resurfaced among the scholastic arena, as most of the convicts are
reported to have some sort of psychiatric disorders or conditions. The perception has been further
augmented by the sensationalized media presentations of violent crimes committed by people
with psychiatric illnesses (Metzl & MacLeish, 2015). Thus, a social stigma is likely to develop
that relates mental illness with criminality. However, the essay argues that criminality does not
essentially presupposes mental illness; rather, the relationship between criminality and mental
illness is only partial.
Psychological theories of Criminality
Criminality is commonly understood as violent or harmful behaviours forbidden by law
as well as social norms. However, the term criminality is often used in criminal psychology to
describe criminal characteristics of a person. Traditionally, psychologists believe that all human
behaviours are a result of the intricate relation between an individual’s social experience and
biological dispositions. Hence, criminal behaviours can also be explained by this particular
framework. Moreover, the theorists tend to analyze criminal behaviour and delinquencies by
focusing on the personality traits of the human beings. On the other hand, according to
contemporary psychological theories, the criminal behaviours or tendencies are a result of
individual cognition patterns. To elucidate, crime often occurs due to different thinking process
respective to individuals that govern their behaviours and actions. For this reason, criminal
offenders often fail to realize the harm they have inflicted, or even justifies their actions (Taylor,

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2015). According to criminal psychologists, there are several significant reasons that may lead
an individual to commit crimes. They are as following:
1. Lack of psychological development
While developing cognitive abilities, some individuals lack the adequate maturity and
growth. As a result, they do not develop the required analyzing capability to identify a
behaviour or am action to be of criminal nature. Moreover, factors such as poor
parenting, negligence, inconsistent discipline, imparting corrupt value can culminate in
faulty personality development causing criminality in later life (Huesmann & Eron,
2017).
2. Learned behaviour of aggression
As some psychologists emphasize the role of the social environment in the context of
development of personality, they claim that if an individual grows up in an environment
surrounded by violence and aggression, they are likely to normalize such traits in their
behaviour. For example, if children endures witnesses their mother being abused on a
regular basis, they might think this to be normal and will eventually engage themselves in
similar actions (Abrantes et al., 2016)
3. Freudian Theory
Among the earlier psychological theories of crime, Sigmund Freud’s Tripartite
Theory holds a significant place in explaining criminal behaviours. According to Freud,
human nature is divided into three distinct sections, namely id, ego and superego. Among
them, the id is a reservoir of instinctive urges and drives that require gratification. These
demand of id often could be unjustified, irrational or even immoral. The superego then

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acts as the moral compass and restrain these drives. These moral guidelines are primarily
acquired from children’s attachment to their parents and social schooling. As human
beings grow up, they develop a rational agent named ego that mediates between superego
and ego. According to Freud, criminal behaviour occurs due to the failure of the
superego. (McCaghy et al., 2016)
4. Behaviorist theory
The empirical evidence of the Freudian theory of criminality is rather weak. As a
response to that, B.F. Skinner later developed his theory of criminal behaviour as a result
of external manipulation through punishment and reinforcement. The behaviorist theory
is comparable with the social theory of learned behavior of aggression and violence.
Thus, it tries to establish that individuals develop their personality with inputs from their
families and/or intimate groups and extended social contacts. (McCaghy et al., 2016)
5. Psychological disorders
Psychologists often associate violence and mental disorders. As a consequence,
people with mental disorders such as antisocial personality disorder, manic depressive
disorder, PTSD etc. van manifest violent behaviours inflicting harm and danger to people
around them. However, these kind of aggressive behaviour is mostly impulsive as well as
subjective (Varshney et al., 2016)
Conclusion
Taking the previous discussion into account, it can be argued that mental illness causes
only a small portion of criminal actions that actually happen across the society. There are several
other reasons that amounts to severe crimes. Moreover, considering the organized crimes such as

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human trafficking, terrorist attacks, drug peddling, organ trafficking etc. it is evident that these
crimes can never emerge out of mental illness. They require organized resource, strategies and
conscious ill intentions. A person with mental illness can never be able to execute such
strategized operation. Hence, crime does not presupposes mental illness alone. It can occur
because of a number of reasons apart from psychological disorders. Hence, the relationship
between criminality and psychological illness is only a part of the problem, not the entire picture
of the issue.

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References
Abrantes, R., Site, A., Camp, S., Diving, F. A. Q., Camp, G. P., Pages, M., & User, C. C.
(2016). Aggressive Behavior—Inheritance and Environment.
Huesmann, L. R., & Eron, L. D. (2017). Childhood aggression and adult criminality. In Facts,
frameworks, and forecasts (pp. 137-156). Routledge.
McCaghy, C. H., Capron, T. A., Jamieson, J. D., & Carey, S. H. H. (2016). Deviant behavior:
Crime, conflict, and interest groups. Routledge.
Metzl, J. M., & MacLeish, K. T. (2015). Mental illness, mass shootings, and the politics of
American firearms. American journal of public health, 105(2), 240-249.
Taylor, S. (2015). Crime and Criminality: A multidisciplinary approach. Routledge.
Varshney, M., Mahapatra, A., Krishnan, V., Gupta, R., & Deb, K. S. (2016). Violence and
mental illness: what is the true story?. J Epidemiol Community Health, 70(3), 223-225.