Characteristics of psychiatric inpatients who stalk, threaten, or harass hospital staff after discharge.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to identify demographic and clinical characteristics of psychiatric inpatients who stalk, threaten, or harass hospital staff after discharge.


METHODS
The authors retrospectively summarized the demographic and clinical characteristics of 17 inpatients who engaged in this type of behavior and a comparison group of 326 inpatients.


RESULTS
The patients who stalked, threatened, or harassed staff after discharge were significantly more likely than the comparison patients to have a diagnosis of personality disorder and/or paranoid disorder, erotomanic subtype, and to have a history of physically assaultive or fear-inducing behavior. The data suggest that they were more likely to be male and never married and to have histories of multiple hospitalizations, suicidal or self-injurious behavior, and substance abuse or dependence.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings reveal several risk factors that may be useful in identifying a subgroup of patients who pose a risk of directing aggressive behavior toward hospital staff after discharge.
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
D A
DA
Sandberg
D E
DE
McNiel
R L
RL
Binder
D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders; D003617:Dangerous Behavior; D005260:Female; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010564:Personnel, Hospital; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012637:Security Measures; D012737:Sex Factors; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology