Violent Behaviour in Acute Psychiatric Inpatient Facilities - A National Survey in Italy

Violence committed by acute psychiatric inpatients represents an important and challenging problem in clinical practice. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of violent and hostile behavior and to identify predictors of aggression in a representative sample of patients admitted to Italian public and private acute psychiatric inpatient facilities during an index period in the year 2004. Socio-demographic, clinical, and treatment information were collected for 1,324 patients (677 men and 647 women) discharged from a representative sample of public and private Italian acute psychiatric facilities during an index period in 2004. The sample was divided into three groups: non-hostile patients (no episodes of violent behavior during hospitalisation), hostile patients (verbal aggression or violent acts against property), and violent patients (authors of physical assault). Ten percent (N=129) of patients showed hostile behavior during hospitalisation and 3% (N=37) physically assaulted other patients or staff members. Schizophrenia and related disorders were the most frequent diagnoses (35,9%) among aggressive patients. Variables associated with violent behavior were: male gender,