Young men in gangs are significantly more likely to suffer from mental disorder and need psychiatric help than other youth, says a UK study.The study surveyed 108 gang members and found that half had an anxiety disorder, more than 85 per cent personality disorder and 25 per cent screened positive for psychosis.Exposure to violence was the likely cause of their mental health problems, it said. Experts said opportunities to help young people were often missed.The research team from Queen Mary, University of London, started by surveying 4,664 men aged between 18 and 34 in Britain.From the total sample, 3,284 said they had not been violent in the past five years, 1,272 said they had assaulted another person or been involved in a fight and 108 said they were currently in a gang.The gang members and the violent men were found to be particularly prone to mental disorders and more likely to access psychiatric services.“It is probable that, among gang members, high levels of anxiety disorder and psychosis were explained by post-traumatic stress disorder, the most frequent psychiatric outcome of exposure to violence,” Prof. Jeremy Coid, lead study author and director of the forensic psychiatry research unit at Queen Mary, said.He said the fear of future violence and victimisation led young men to experience extreme anxiety.The study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, said: “Readiness to retaliate violently if disrespected, excitement from violence, and short-term benefits from instrumental violence lead to further cycles of violence and risk of violent victimisation.”The study also found that, of the 108 gang members surveyed, around a third had attempted suicide. The authors said this could be linked to the notion that impulsive violence may be directed both outward and inward.
