EXPRESSED EMOTION, ATTRIBUTIONS AND COPING IN STAFF WHO HAVE BEEN VICTIMS OF VIOLENT INCIDENTS

In some occupations, there is an increased risk of becoming a victim o f a violent incident. Nursing and care work, in settings for people wi th learning disabilities and challenging behaviour, or who have mental health needs, are occupations which can involve such a risk. This stu dy examined how staff felt, after a violent incident, towards the perp etrator of the incident (expressed emotion), and the reasons (attribut ions) that the care staff gave as to their belief about the cause of t he incident. Coping was investigated by looking at measures of anxiety . Results indicated that anxiety was often increased a week after the incident but then returned to baseline levels after a month. Expressed emotion was often high after an incident, and remained high a month l ater. Reasons that staff gave about the cause of the violent incident varied but they seldom blamed themselves for the incident. They tended to make attributions which were internal to the client, external to t hemselves, personal to the client, uncontrollable by themselves, and n either controllable nor uncontrollable by the client.