Could a gruesome automobile accident be due to a man’s mental illness? Or is there a more reasonable explanation lurking, such as the fact the man was drunk at the time of the accident?

As we’ve discussed previously here and here (amongst other places), there is no greater incidence of violence among the mentally ill than in the general population, a common misconception perpetrated by those with a political agenda. There is, however, an increased risk of violence amongst those with a substance abuse problem, such as alcoholism.

And we all know that drunk drivers cause more accidents than sober drivers.

So why, in this article about a gruesome accident caused by drunk driving, does the sister blame his brother’s mental illness on the incident?

Warrichaiet has mental health problems that have grown worse since the spring, Gutowski said. He received counseling for having suicidal thoughts and quit his job at a Green Bay meatpacking plant due to stress, she said.

[...] But Gutowski said her brother needed better treatment and medication.

“There should be money for programs,” she said. “This could happen to the next person. You’ve got to get ill people off the streets.”

Maybe. But her brother was in treatment for his problems — what more was he supposed to do? It’s not clear from the article whether he was still in treatment, quit it on his own, or what. But to implicate his mental illness as basically causing this accident is just perpetuating the myth — that mental illness causes people to act in violent ways.

It’s a horrible tragedy, but let’s put the blame where it belongs — on the guy’s drinking. You don’t need to look far to see the amount of carnage and injury drunk driving causes. On the other hand, there’s no research that shows people with mental illness are more likely to be the cause of or involved in deadly automobile accidents.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 11 Jul 2007
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.