JAMA Psychiatry Study Highlights

Jeremy W. Coid, M.D., and colleagues from Queen Mary University of London, Forensic Psychiatry Research Unit, Barts, and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, England, investigated which delusional beliefs and characteristics are associated with violent behavior during a first episode of psychosis.

The study included 458 patients with first-episode psychosis who were 18 to 64 years of age.

The prevalence of violence was 38 percent during the 12-month period, and 12 percent of the sample engaged in serious violence. Three prevalent delusions showed pathways to serious violence mediated by anger due to delusional beliefs: persecution, being spied on and conspiracy.

"Anger due to delusions is a key factor that explains the relationship between violence and acute psychosis," the study concludes.