According to research on violent activity among former psychiatric patients, ________ may account for the relatively high rates of violence among former psychiatric patients and the community comparison group.

A) random variables
B) individual differences
C) reporting biases
D) contextual factors

Contextual factors, such as poverty, substance abuse, and unstable living situations, have been found to be strongly associated with violent behavior in both former psychiatric patients and the general population. Random variables and individual differences are broad and nonspecific concepts that do not specifically account for the higher rates of violence among former psychiatric patients. Reporting biases may affect the accuracy of data on violent behavior, but they do not explain why former psychiatric patients have higher rates of violence compared to the community comparison group.