NCJ Number
184974
Date Published
1999
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This chapter discusses the use of medication to treat violent youth.
Abstract
Psychiatric disorders associated with youth violence include personality disorders, substance abuse, neurologic and other organic insults to the brain, as well as schizophrenia and mania when they begin to manifest themselves in adolescence. Use of medication for violence occurs only in the context of a doctor-patient relationship and, except for emergencies, requires informed consent. A specific type of medication can be targeted to a specific psychiatric disorder or medications can be used in a nonspecific manner for the treatment of violence. Use of medication for violent patients should be accompanied by other psychological and social interventions. These include psychotherapy or counseling in individual, family, or group settings as well as social work and other attempts to modify the violent individual's environment in order to reduce the need and/or the opportunity for violence. The chapter examines types of patients with increased risk of violence, use of emergency medication and long-term medication, and types of medication and their uses. References