Mental Illness and its Link to Illegal Street Market Activity: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and How They Compare to Violence

• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X20944692
• Author: Leah E. Daigle,Michelle N. Harris
• Published date: 01 September 2021
• Date: 01 September 2021
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X20944692

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2021, Vol. 65(12) 1335 –1355

© The Author(s) 2020

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/0306624X20944692

journals.sagepub.com/home/ijo

Article

Mental Illness and its Link

to Illegal Street Market

Activity: Prevalence, Risk

Factors, and How They

Compare to Violence

Michelle N. Harris1 and Leah E. Daigle1

Abstract

Given the focus on research assessing violence among people with mental illness,

other forms of deviance such as illegal street market offending have been relatively

ignored. As such, the prevalence and risk factors for illegal street market offending

among those with mental disorders is unknown. Utilizing the MacArthur Risk

Assessment Study, the prevalence of illegal street market offending among this

population is assessed along with the risk factors for engaging in this type of behavior.

These factors are investigated for their generality in predicting violent offending to

see if there are unique risk factors associated with illegal street market offending.

Results indicate that factors related to money, factors related to substance usage,

and general factors related to offending are significantly associated with illegal street

market offending. Theoretical implications and future research are discussed.

Keywords

mental illness, deviant behavior, illegal street market offending, fencing goods, selling

drugs

Much of the research examining criminality and mental health has focused on violent

behavior among people with mental illness. In doing so, researchers have identified

prevalence rates and risk factors associated with violent behavior among this

1Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Michelle N. Harris, MS, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia State University,

55 Park Place, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.

Email: Mharris78@gsu.edu

944692IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X20944692International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyHarris and Daigle

research-article2020

1336 International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 65(12)

population (Arseneault et al., 2000; Elbogen & Johnson, 2009; Estroff et al., 1994;

Hiday, 1997; Link et al., 1999; Monahan et al., 2001; Mulvey, 1994; Silver & Teasdale,

2005; Silver, 2006; Swartz et al., 1998; Teasdale, 2009). More specifically, scholarship

has shown that people with mental disorders are more likely than their non-disordered

counterparts to commit acts of violence; however, numerous studies note that this is a

modest association (Elbogen & Johnson, 2009; Monahan, 1992; Monahan et al., 2001;

Mulvey, 1994; Swanson et al., 1990).

In examining factors that influence violent behavior among this population, several

situational and dispositional risk factors have been identified. For example, factors

related to having a mental illness such as comorbidity (Bubier & Drabick, 2009;

Monahan et al., 2001; Steadman et al., 1998; Swanson et al., 1996), psychopathy

(Douglas et al., 1999; Hemphill et al., 1998; Monahan et al., 2001; Skeem & Mulvey,

2001), and symptomology (Link et al., 1999; Link et al., 1998; Teasdale et al., 2006)

have been implicated as significant predictors of violence among people with mental

illness. Other research has identified that the factors that increase risk for violence for

people with mental illness are similar to those that increase risk for others. Risk factors

such as strain/stress (Link et al., 2016; Silver & Teasdale, 2005; Steadman & Ribner,

1982), substance abuse (Appelbaum et al., 2000; Elbogen & Johnson, 2009; Fazel

et al., 2009; Steadman et al., 1998; Swartz et al., 1998), impulsivity (Bonta et al., 1998;

Douglas & Skeem, 2005; Grisso et al., 2000; Monahan et al., 2001), and engaging in

prior forms of criminal behavior and violence (Monahan et al., 2001) share some com-

monality with the general population.

Despite this knowledge regarding the extent to which people with mental illness

engage in violence and the factors related to their violent offending, what is unknown

is the extent to which people with mental illness also participate in other forms of

criminality and what factors predict this involvement. More specifically, one type of

criminality unexplored in the mental health literature is engagement in illegal street

market activity, such as fencing goods or selling drugs. Although unknown, we sus-

pect that people with mental disorders also engage in these types of offending and

there may be unique risk factors associated with this type of criminality.

There are several reasons people with mental illness may engage in this specific

form of non-violent offending that includes illegal street market activities such as

fencing goods, running numbers, or selling drugs. First, scholars have documented

that people with mental illness may encounter limited access to legitimate employ-

ment opportunities (Burns et al., 2007; Draine et al., 2002; Modini et al., 2016; Mueser

et al., 2001). In fact, previous studies have documented that 95% of those with serious

mental disorders are unemployed (Mueser et al., 2001). More recently, researchers

have found that only 22% of people with serious mental illness were employed

(Waghorn et al., 2012). This lack of formal employment opportunities may lead people

with mental illness to engage in nonconventional strategies involving the illegal street

market economy as a mean to supplement their income.

Second, a large proportion of the homeless population suffers from a mental illness

(Fazel et al., 2008; Folsom & Jeste, 2002; Folsom et al., 2005; Fischer & Breakey,

1991; Nishio et al., 2017; Sullivan et al., 2000). In fact, prior studies have found that