Predicting assaultiveness in psychiatric inpatients: a pilot study.
A sample of 87 psychiatric inpatients known to have been assaultive while in the hospital was contrasted with a matched group of nonviolent patients to identify the personal risk factors that distinguished the two groups. Data were collected using a personal history interview, a neurological examination, and an electroencephalogram. The four risk factors identified--neurological abnormality, history of violent crime, history of violent suicide attempts, and deviant family environment in childhood--were used to develop a statistical model predicting which subjects in a sample of newly admitted patients would become assaultive during the first three months after admission. The predicted classification of patients was found to be significantly related to subsequent assaultive behavior.
Convit
A
A
Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York.
Jaeger
J
J
Lin
S P
SP
Meisner
M
M
Volavka
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D003415:Crime; D005190:Family; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012307:Risk Factors; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology; D014754:Violence