Comparison of registered nurses' and nursing assistants' choices of intervention for aggressive behaviors

This article extends the work conducted by Fagan-Pryor, Femea, and Haber (1994), in which factor analyses were used to examine the congruence between aggressive behavior and type of intervention warranted (verbal, chemical, or physical), as rated by nursing personnel. The purpose of this study was to determine if 88 registered nurses (RNs) and 84 nursing assistants (NAs) would choose similar interventions for 84 aggressive behaviors. The three scales used (labeled Precursor, Defensive, and Acting Out) obtained Cronbach alpha internal consistency reliabilities ranging from .79 to .96. Analyses of variance indicated that RNs and NAs agreed on a set of precursor behaviors for which they would use therapeutic verbal intervention. RN and NA responses differed significantly only in prescribing the use of physical intervention for behaviors on the Defensive and Acting Out scales. In both situations, RNs selected fewer behaviors that required physical intervention than did NAs. Implications for clinical practice are presented.