Violent behavior in schizophrenic inpatients.
We undertook a retrospective survey of assaultive behavior in 140 psychiatric inpatient research volunteers who had not previously responded well to neuroleptic treatment. Forty-one of 97 patients with schizophrenia became assaultive during their hospitalization, whereas only four of 43 patients with other diagnoses became assaultive (p less than .0001). Most assaults were not a significant threat to the attacked person, but a small number were highly dangerous. Assaultive patients were significantly younger, and a greater proportion had a previous history of violence, compared with nonassaultive patients. A previous history of violent behavior was linked to more previous hospitalizations, indicating that such behavior might be associated with a poor prognosis.
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D010359:Patient Readmission; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D014754:Violence
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents