Characteristics of Assaultive Patients with Schizophrenia Versus Personality Disorder: Six Year Analysis of the Assaulted Staff Action Program (ASAP)

• NCJ Number: 195926
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 47 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2002 Pages: 558-561
• Author(s): Raymond B. Flannery Jr. Ph.D.; Stephen Rachlin M.D.; Andrew P. Walker B.A.
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 4 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study compared the assaultive behaviors of patients who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and personality disorder.

Abstract

This study was a 6-year retrospective study that compared the differential characteristics of assaultive patients who had either schizophrenia or personality disorder. The authors’ main hypothesis was that patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia would account for a greater percentage of assaults when compared to patients with personality disorder. The authors explain that both types of patients are at a higher risk of becoming violent than patients with other types of diagnoses. However, previous research has not specifically compared these two groups. The study participants were 185 male and 181 female psychiatric patients who had a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia (49 percent) or personality disorder (21 percent). The participants ranged in age from 18 to 76 years; 89 percent were Caucasian, 5 percent were Black, 2 percent were Hispanic, and 4 percent represented other ethnicities. Data on the assaultive behavior of these participants were gathered from the Assaulted Staff Action Program (ASAP), which is a crisis intervention program for staff who have been assaulted by patients. The results indicate that in this study, assaults by schizophrenic patients were more likely, however, their rate of assaults was consistent with their presence in the population. On the other hand, patients with personality disorder tended to assault at a rate higher than would be expected based on their population. Thus, compared to their presence in the population, patients with personality disorder represent a significant threat of harm. The study also found that younger females with personality disorder were particularly likely to engage in assaultive behavior and require restraint. The authors point out that the results of this study have implications for keeping psychiatric staff safe from harm in clinical settings. 1 Table, 25 references