title: Crowding and aggression on inpatient psychiatric wards.
abstract: The association between crowding and aggressive behavior among psychiatric inpatients was investigated. Aggressive incidents were documented on two closed psychiatric wards between February 1 and December 15, 1996. A modest correlation between number of patients on the ward and number of aggressive incidents per patient was found. Enlargement of the physical space by the addition of a courtyard to one of the wards midway through the study did not lead to a significant decline in incidents. Possibly, a lack of psychological space-having no privacy or not being able to get sufficient rest-may be more important in triggering aggression than a lack of physical space.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatric Hospital Welterhof, Heerlen, The Netherlands. volkoren@wxs.nl
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Nijman
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rector
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression; D001530:Belgium; D003441:Crowding; D005260:Female; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010362:Patients' Rooms; D012189:Retrospective Studies