ABSTRACT
Analyses of how people perceive risk of harm and how they make decisions based on those perceptions have proven fruitful in many topical areas such as the management of technological and natural hazards (eg, Krimsky & Golding, 1992; National Research Council, 1989; Slovic et al, 1974) and promotion of safe sex, use of seat belts and other personal protective behaviors (Weinstein, 1987a). One area in which, to date, risk perception and decision-making methodologies have not often been applied is mental health law (see Wexler & Winick, 1991, for an exception). This is unfortunate, since some of the key issues in mental health law appear highly amenable to being enlightened by a risk-perception and decision-making framework. In this chapter, we explore the manner in which people perceive one kind of risk – the risk that a person with a mental disorder will be violent – and the effects of those perceptions on their willingness to impose involuntary mental hospitalization on the individual.
