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Crime and Mental Health
PostgraduateCUR-PSB5302024
Course information for 2024 intake
Delve into the complex relationship between crime and mental illness. Examine links between offending, violence, mental disorder, and substance abuse. Get critical with an evidence-based approach that separates media representations from actual research.
Enrolments for this course are closed, but you may have other options to start studying now. Book a consultation to learn more.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Entry requirements
- No ATAR needed, No prior study
- Duration
- 13 weeks
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Crime and Mental Health
About this subject
At the completion of this subject students will be able to:
- articulate the complex relationship between mental health and offending
- critically evaluate the evidence concerning a range of mental health disorders and offending
- discuss the ethical issues inherent to the interface between mental health and criminality
- interpret important features of case examples and provide recommendations for best practice.
- Media representations and realities
- Violence and mental disorder: Problems with measurement
- Substance abuse and aggression
- Substance abuse and crime
- Psychopathy and crime
- Intellectual disability and crime
- Mental health and terrorism
- Personality disorders and crime
- Assessment and treatment I
- Assessment and treatment II
Although associations between crime and mental illness have a long history, the relationship is complex and contentious. Problem areas include media representations and social constructions of violent offenders, methodological and conceptual inconsistencies, and limited appreciation of the heterogeneity of mental health issues. This subject of study aims to provide students with the skills and knowledge necessary to navigate the evidence concerning the crime-mental health relationship. Factors other than mental illness that may be associated with violence and general criminality are explored, as are ethical challenges relating to this area. Particular mental disorders most often linked with criminality are examined and the relevant evidence is evaluated. Based on the content of this subject of study, students will demonstrate knowledge of ethical challenges and provide recommendations for best practice for both empirical research and policy.
Please Note: If it’s your first time studying a Curtin University subject you’ll need to complete their compulsory ‘Academic Integrity Program’. It only takes two hours to complete online, and provides you with vital information about studying with Curtin University. The Academic Integrity Program is compulsory, so if it’s not completed your subject grades will be withheld.
Find out more about the Academic Integrity module.
- Written Assignment (50%)
- Examination (50%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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Entry requirements
No entry requirements
Equivalent subjects
You should not enrol in this subject if you have successfully completed any of the following subject(s) because they are considered academically equivalent:
CUR-PSB530C (Not currently available)
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
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What to study next?
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
PostgraduateOUA-PSU-GCE
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