This article reviews evidence supporting the need for interventions to promote physical activity among persons with serious mental illness. Principles of designing effective physical activity interventions are discussed along with ways to adapt such interventions for this population. Individuals with serious mental illness are at high risk of chronic diseases associated with sedentary behavior, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The effects of lifestyle modification on chronic disease outcomes are large and consistent across multiple studies. Evidence for the psychological benefits for clinical populations comes from two meta-analyses of outcomes of depressed patients that showed that effects of exercise were similar to those of psychotherapeutic interventions. Exercise can also alleviate secondary symptoms such as low self-esteem and social withdrawal. Although structured group programs can be effective for persons with serious mental illness, especially walking programs, lifestyle changes that focus on accumulation of moderate-intensity activity throughout the day may be most appropriate. Research suggests that exercise is well accepted by people with serious mental illness and is often considered one of the most valued components of treatment. Adherence to physical activity interventions appears comparable to that in the general population. Mental health service providers can provide effective, evidence-based physical activity interventions for individuals with serious mental illness.

Little research has been conducted to determine the motivations of hate crime offenders. This article builds on an earlier work of J. Levin and McDevitt (1993) in which a typology of offender motivations was first articulated. We reanalyze 169 Boston police case files that were originally studied in order to provide empirical grounding for the typology. In this updated study, characteristics of the three original motives-thrill, defensive, and mission-are examined in relation to a new category: retaliatory motivation. In addition, the article addresses the issue of levels of culpability in explaining the most appropriate sanctions for certain kinds of hate offenders.

Outpatients in psychiatric rehabilitation valued physical activity, but mental illness symptoms, medication sedation, weight gain, fear of unsafe conditions, fear of discrimination, and interpretations of program compliance were barriers. Confronting how attitudes and barriers specific to this population can affect activity and reframing program compliance to include the independent initiation of activity as part of improving health might help clients of mental health services to become more active.

Findings suggest the potential impact of workshop group support on adherence in African-American women.

Background:Crime may be a significant barrier to physical activity for urban African American women, yet few studies have examined this relationship in intervention studies. This study examines relationships among neighborhood crime incidents, perceptions of crime and safety, and adherence in a walking intervention among urban, midlife African-American women.Methods:The sample includes 148 women living in the City of Chicago. Violent crimes, disorder crimes, gun violence, and crime-related safety were examined. Adherence to walking frequency was measured as the percentage of recommended walks completed.Results:Controlling for demographic characteristics and treatment group, multivariate regression analyses showed walking adherence was not associated with any of the crime measures or crime-related safety (R2 = 0.130 to 0.147). The effect of enhanced treatment did not differ by levels of objective or perceived neighborhood crime or safety. Weak to moderate bivariate correlations were observed between objective crime measures and perceived disorder crime and crime-related safety (r = 0.04 to 0.25).Conclusions:Weak correlations between perceived and objective crime measures suggest they are measuring different aspects of the crime environment. Future studies should examine perceived and objective measures in other populations and settings and other neighborhood social factors which may moderate crime and safety effects on outcomes of physical activity interventions.