Aggression in general-hospital patients.

Abstract

The Buss-Durkee Inventory (BDI) rating for measuring aggression was performed on 125 consecutive female patients admitted to a general hospital. The test scores of different diagnostic groups were all on a intermediate level, and with the exception of slightly lower scores in patients with blood disorders, only few differences statistical significance were observed. The factor analysis of the test results revealed three factors: in addition to aggression factor (I) and hostility factor (II) a factor called remorse factor (III) was identified. The patient groups divided according to their medical diagnoses showed no differences with regard to these factors. The variance of factor scores could not be explained by such background variables as social class, marital status or domicile. There was, however, a highly significant negative correlation (-0.33) between age and the aggression factor. Finally, the concept of suppressed aggression and hostility and the role of aggression dynamics in the development of organic illness is discussed.