A tentative model of aggression on inpatient psychiatric wards

Violence in psychiatric hospitals threatens the safety and well-being of pa tients and staff members, The determinants and correlates of inpatient aggr ession are not well understood. The authors present an explanatory model of aggressive behavior that attempts to integrate patient, staff, and ward va riables. In the proposed model, the patient's psychopathology and distorted cognitions are exacerbated by environmental and communication stressors fo und on psychiatric wards. The model emphasizes that repeated inpatient aggr ession may be the result of a vicious circle, whereby a patient's violent b ehavior is often followed by an increase in stress on the patient caused by environmental or communication factors, heightening the risk of another ou tburst of violence.