Risk for suicide and risk for violence: a case for separating the current violence diagnoses

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Accurate assessment of risk for suicide and risk for violence is crucial in clinical practice.
• Clear operational definitions are needed to distinguish between these two distinct, yet sometimes overlapping, risk behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify precise descriptive terms for risk for suicide and risk for violence.
• To establish clear operational definitions for these identified terms.

Main Methods:

• The Delphi technique was employed over two rounds with an expert panel of 23 healthcare professionals.
• A control group of 11 participants was included to validate the content of the definitions.

Main Results:

• Agreement was reached on 36 definitions specifically for suicide risk.
• Agreement was reached on 39 definitions specifically for violence risk.

Conclusions:

• The developed definitions effectively highlight the fundamental distinctions between risk for suicide and risk for violence.
• These operational definitions can aid clinicians in more accurately assessing and differentiating these critical patient risks.