The Extended Staff Observation Aggression Scale (SOAS-E): development, presentation and evaluation.
The Staff Observation Aggression Scale (SOAS) was developed as a scale for reporting aggressive incidents involving psychiatric in-patients. The SOAS -- Extended Version (SOAS-E) has the same aim, but has additional categories and subcategories. The SOAS-E clearly distinguishes between violent and non-violent aggressive behaviour and characterizes in more detail the associated situation. However, the main contribution of the SOAS-E is the introduction of a category of 'warning signals' that precede the releasing 'provocation factor' as a separate and primary aspect of the cyclus of aggressive incidents. The development of the SOAS-E is described, and the testing and inter-rater reliability of the warning signals category are examined. Compared to the SOAS, the additional categories of the SOAS-E are found to increase the scope for a detailed characterization of aggressive behaviour in psychiatric wards.
Security Department, Aker Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
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Hallsteinsen
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Kristensen
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Dahl
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Eilertsen
D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000145:classification*; D001526:Behavioral Symptoms / Q000145:classification; D003463:Cues; D019260:Expressed Emotion / Q000145:classification; D005260:Female; D005568:Forms and Records Control / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D019370:Observation / Q000379:methods*; D015588:Observer Variation; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012308:Risk Management / Q000379:methods*; D013192:Staff Development / Q000379:methods; D014754:Violence / Q000145:classification / Q000517:prevention & control