The public perception that mental disorder is strongly associated with violence drives both legal policy and social practice toward people with mental disorders. This study enrolled 1,136 male and female patients with mental disorders between the ages of 18 and 40 years and monitored violence to others every 10 weeks during the first year after discharge from the hospital. A comparison group of 519 people living in the same neighborhood as the persons discharged from the hospital were interviewed once about violence in the past 10 weeks. Substance abuse symptoms significantly raised the rate of violence in both the patient and comparison groups; a higher portion of patients reported symptoms of substance abuse. Violence in both groups was most frequently targeted at family members and friends, and most often occurred at home. Figures, tables, references