Violent victimization of psychiatric patients: a Swedish case-control study.
OBJECTIVE
To report the rate of violent victimization of psychiatric patients 1 year before interview and to examine the relative rate in comparison to the general population.


METHODS
Cases were recruited from two public psychiatric hospitals in Stockholm County (n = 390). The controls comprised gender- and age-matched people interviewed in an annual national survey of living conditions (n = 1,170).


RESULTS
Twenty percent of the patients had been victimized during the preceding year. The relative rate was six times higher than that of the controls. Women appeared to be most vulnerable with a tenfold risk increase.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings stress that psychiatric patients are vulnerable to other people's violent behaviour.
Sturup
Joakim
J
Division of Forensic Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Box 4044, 141 04, Huddinge, Sweden. joakim.sturup@ki.se
Sorman
Karolina
K
Lindqvist
Per
P
Kristiansson
Marianne
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data