Association between characteristics of nursing teams and patients' aggressive behavior in closed psychiatric wards

Paul Doedens*, Jentien Vermeulen, Gerben ter Riet, Lindy-Lou Boyette, Corine Latour, Lieuwe de Haan

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Purpose: Estimate the effect of nursing, shift, and patient characteristics on patients' aggression. Design and Methods: Follow-up study on a closed psychiatric ward was performed to estimate the effect of nursing team characteristics and patient characteristics on the incidence of aggression. Findings: The incidence of aggression (n = 802 in sample) was lower in teams with >75% male nurses. Teams scoring high on extraversion experienced more verbal aggression and teams scoring high on neuroticism experienced more physical aggression. Younger patients and/or involuntarily admitted patients were more frequently aggressive. Practice Implications: These findings could stimulate support for nurses to prevent aggression.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2592-2600
Number of pages9
JournalPerspectives in psychiatric care
Volume58
Issue number4
Early online date2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2022
Externally publishedYes

Cite this