Inpatient verbal aggression: content, targets and patient characteristics

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Verbally aggressive behavior is prevalent in psychiatric settings, often exceeding physical violence.
• Existing research frequently aggregates diverse aggressive behaviors, limiting detailed understanding.
• The impact on psychiatric staff and patients necessitates a closer examination of verbal aggression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To categorize incidents of verbal aggression among adult psychiatric inpatients.
• To investigate associations between patient characteristics and the occurrence of verbal aggression.
• To differentiate patient variables linked to specific forms of verbal aggression.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 522 adult psychiatric inpatients from 84 acute wards.
• Collected data from nursing and medical records during the initial 2 weeks of admission.
• Categorized 1398 incidents of verbal aggression and analyzed patient characteristics.

Main Results:

• Half of the sample experienced verbal aggression, totaling 1398 incidents.
• Prevalent forms included abusive language, shouting, threats, expressions of anger, and racist comments.
• Staff were the most frequent targets; history of violence and drug use correlated with verbal aggression.

Conclusions:

• Multidimensional assessment of verbal aggression is crucial for a nuanced understanding.
• Specific patient variables are associated with distinct types of verbal aggression.
• Further research should explore these differentiated associations to inform targeted interventions.