An epidemiologic study of problems associated with violence among psychiatric inpatients

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Abstract
Of a 1-yr sample of psychiatric inpatients from a single catchment area .apprx. 11% engaged in assaultive behavior before admission to the hospital. Among schizophrenic, alcoholic and organic brain syndrome patients, assaultiveness was linked to emotional turmoil, as manifested by agitation and anger. Male patients with other diagnoses showed assaultiveness in the absence of substantial emotional distress and patients with affective disorders were unlikely to exhibit assaultiveness even when high levels of agitation and anger were reported. Assessment and treatment of violent behavior in psychiatric patients may be primarily linked to the nature of the underlying psychopathology.

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