CNN (1/25, Grinberg) reports that the American Psychiatric Association “has called for the development and testing of better methods to identify high-risk individuals who should be denied gun access, implying that current criteria under federal law related to mental illness are inadequate to serve as a basis for gun disqualification.”
In a position statement, the APA points out that “while research shows most people diagnosed with serious mental health conditions are never violent toward others, and most violent individuals do not suffer from these major mental disorders, merely having a diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder should not be the only basis for disqualification from firearms.”
Some “common mental health conditions – including personality disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorder – tend to be associated with the risky mix of pathological anger with gun access,” the APA has found.
Related Links:
— “Gun violence not a mental health issue, experts say, pointing to ‘anger,’ suicides,” Emanuella Grinberg, CNN, January 25, 2016.