Citation

Suchy Y, Bolger J. Clin. Neuropsychol. 1999; 13(4): 487-494.

Affiliation

Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, United States of America. yana.suchy@prodigy.net

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10806462

Abstract

The ability of the Behavioral Dyscontrol Scale (BDS) and its factors to predict aggression in psychogeriatric inpatients was investigated. Fifty-one neurologic and 33 psychiatric patients participated in the study. In the psychiatric group, Environmental Independence Factor (EIF: consisting of two go/no-go tasks) was more impaired in aggressive than in nonaggressive patients. In both groups, Fluid Intelligence Factor (FIF: consisting of alphanumeric sequencing, non-mirroring, and insight) was more impaired in aggressive than in nonaggressive patients. No differences between aggressive and nonaggressive patients were found for the Motor Programming Factor, BDS total score, or Mini-Mental State Exam. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve using an EIF/FIF composite demonstrated high sensitivity and modest specificity for the psychiatric patients, yielding an Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 84%. Differences in the test's ability to predict aggression in the two diagnostic groups underscore the necessity for establishing unique norms for different populations.

Language: en