NCJ Number
220023
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 22 Issue: 4 Dated: 2007 Pages: 449-462
Date Published
2007
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether male and female psychiatric staff experienced different types and frequencies of threatening incidents from patients.
Abstract
Results indicated that male staff were no more likely than female staff to have been physically or sexually assaulted by a patient. However, women were more likely than men to have been verbally or physically threatened. Females also reported more experiences in which a patient made a sexual threat to them. Participants were recruited from a midwestern State psychiatric facility with forensic, long-term, and acute care units, and a community-based dual-diagnosis treatment facility. This included staff of all types: clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, master’s –level therapists, psychiatric technicians, and case managers. Out of 103 eligible staff at the outpatient and residential dual-diagnosis community mental health programs, 39 percent completed the survey packet. At the State hospital programs, 40 percent out of 225 completed the survey packet. This resulted in a sample with a total of 51 male staff (40 percent) and 78 female (60 percent). A multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was conducted to compare how men and women reported experiencing physical threats, sexual threats, and number of assaults while controlling for these differences. Tables, references