Citation

Kraus JE, Sheitman BB. Psychiatr. Serv. 2004; 55(2): 183-185.

Affiliation

Dorothea Dix State Psychiatric Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. jkraus@med.unc.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

14762245

Abstract

Violent behavior is a significant problem in psychiatric hospitals. The authors reviewed hospital incident reports to identify the characteristics of violent behavior in a large state psychiatric hospital. They found that a very small percentage of patients accounted for a majority of violent episodes, that rates of violent behavior varied among hospital units, that assaultive behavior was more common than self-harm in the long-term units, and that most commonly the assault victims were other patients. The data support earlier studies demonstrating that a small number of patients are responsible for a majority of violent episodes in a hospital setting.

Language: en