Citation

Rossi AM, Jacobs M, Monteleone M, Olsen R, Surber RW, Winkler EL, Wommack A. Hosp. Community Psychiatry 1985; 36(6): 643-647.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1985, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

4007817

Abstract

Recent studies indicate that the incidence of violent or fear-inducing behavior among the mentally ill may be higher than once thought. In this study, medical record admission notes for 1,687 psychiatric patients over a four-year period were examined for indications that the patients had engaged in violent or fear-inducing behavior just prior to hospital admission. This and other studies suggest that the frequency of violent or fear-inducing behavior associated with psychiatric admissions may have stabilized in recent years. The authors also found a significantly higher level of hospital readmissions for violent patients than for other patients. As a result, they caution against assuming that the rate of violent behavior among hospital admissions accurately reflects the prevalence of violent behavior among the general population of the mentally ill.

Language: en