[A risk profile of the aggressive psychiatric inpatient: can it be identified?].
Violent behavior of psychiatric inpatients has grown in interest. Within the scope of a prospective study,patient assaults in six psychiatric hospitals of the Swiss Canton of Zurich were assessed during a period of 6 months, from November 1999 until May 2000. Three hundred eighty-eight of 5,251 inpatients (7.4%) were reported to act aggressively. The following risk factors for aggressive behavior were identified: male gender, younger age, unemployment, severity of mental illness, and rehospitalization. Psychiatric diagnosis was not related to aggressiveness. In spite of the detection of risk factors, a characteristic profile of aggressive psychiatric inpatients cannot be stated. Research should pay more attention to situation-specific cues for the aggressive behavior of such individuals.
Rüesch
P
P
Psychiatrische Universitätsklinik Zürich, Forschungsgruppe Public Mental Health, Zurich. prue@bli.unizh.ch.
Miserez
B
B
Hell
D
D
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data