title: Emotional responses of staff to assault in a pediatric state hospital.
abstract: In this study, we examined the emotional responses of staff to patient-on-staff assault at a state inpatient psychiatric hospital for children and adolescents. Staff (n = 93) completed self-report measures assessing general psychiatric functioning and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Staff assaulted by patients in the past six months (n = 59) were compared with those who had not been assaulted (n = 34). Direct-care staff were more likely to be assaulted than were other staff. Assaulted staff were more likely to report prior nonsexual assault by a stranger, higher anxiety, more somatic concerns, greater vulnerability and lack of control, and higher levels of impairment at work and were more likely to consider terminating employment than were non-assaulted staff. Our cross-sectional data suggest several differences in assaulted versus non-assaulted staff. Further studies are needed to determine whether differences in anxiety and traumatic events precede assaults or represent antecedent risk factors for being assaulted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavial Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA. er3h@virginia.edu
authors.forename: Eileen P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aaron
authors.forename: Mandi L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Burnette
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Burket
authors.forename: Theresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aaron
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006783:Hospitals, State; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D014481:United States; D014754:Violence