Citation

Nijman HL, Rector G. Psychiatr. Serv. 1999; 50(6): 830-831.

Affiliation

Psychiatric Hospital Welterhof, Heerlen, The Netherlands. volkoren@wxs.nl

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10375156

Abstract

The association between crowding and aggressive behavior among psychiatric inpatients was investigated. Aggressive incidents were documented on two closed psychiatric wards between February 1 and December 15, 1996. A modest correlation between number of patients on the ward and number of aggressive incidents per patient was found. Enlargement of the physical space by the addition of a courtyard to one of the wards midway through the study did not lead to a significant decline in incidents. Possibly, a lack of psychological space-having no privacy or not being able to get sufficient rest-may be more important in triggering aggression than a lack of physical space.

Language: en