Women with schizophrenia and co-occurring substance use disorders: an increased risk for violent victimization and HIV.

Women with serious mental illnesses are at risk for victimization and HIV. Schizophrenia related neurocognitive and social competency deficits exacerbated by the effects of substance abuse may make women with schizophrenia particularly vulnerable. Information processing deficits may impair the ability to identify situations or interpersonal cues signaling danger, and make it difficult to remember and hence avoid, situations, people, or places previously proven dangerous. Social competency deficits interfere with the ability to form lasting relationships, negotiate out of dangerous situations, refuse unreasonable requests, and effectively problem solve. Given the potential increased vulnerability of this population to these negative outcomes, empirically based manualized preventive interventions are greatly needed.