Children and adolescents with developmental disorders and violence

The aim of this preliminary study was to investigate how commonly child-psychiatric inpatients have experienced and seen violence, and whether children with developmental disorders are at an increased risk for such traumatic events.

The sample consisted of 41 patients, 29 boys and 12 girls, with a mean (SD) age of 11.8 (3.2) years. Ten children had a developmental disorder, 19 an emotional disorder, 9 a behavioural disorder and 3 a psychotic disorder. The study was performed as part of the normal clinical examinations by paying special attention to violence in the lives of these patients.

88% of the patients had experienced some form of violence. 49% had experienced active physical violence and 49% active psychological violence. If suspected violence was also taken into account, active physical violence was more common among the patients with developmental disorders (90%) or behavioural disorders (78%) than among those with emotional disorders (37%) or psychotic disorders (67%). On the other hand, passive physical violence without active physical violence had been experienced by 37% of the patients with emotional disorders but not by the other patients.

Violence was common among all groups of child-psychiatric inpatients. These individuals may be vulnerable to violence, as interaction with them may be especially demanding for peers and adults.