Abstract
BackgroundDuring adolescence and young adulthood people appear to be more prone to violent behaviour. A greater tendency to violent behaviour appears to be associated with hyperactivity, impulsivity and low tolerance for frustration and provocation in social settings.AimsThis prospective cohort study aimed to evaluate rates of violent behaviour among young people with mental disorders, compared with older age groups.MethodA total of 340 individuals with severe mental disorders (125 living in residential facilities and 215 out-patients) were evaluated at baseline with the SCID-I and II, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Specific Level of Functioning scale, Brown–Goodwin Lifetime History of Aggression scale, Buss–Durkee Hostility Inventory, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and State–Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2. Aggressive behaviour was rated every 15 days with the Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS).ResultsThe sample comprised 28 individuals aged 18–29 years, 202 aged 30–49 and 110 aged 50 and over. Younger age was associated with a personality disorder diagnosis, substance use disorder, being single and employed. These results were confirmed even controlling for the gender effect. The patterns of the cumulative MOAS mean scores showed that younger (18–29 years old) individuals were significantly more aggressive than older (≥50) ones (P< 0.001).ConclusionsThis study highlights how young age in people with severe mental disorders is correlated with higher levels of impulsivity, anger and hostility, confirming previous analyses. Our results may assist clinicians in implementing early interventions to improve anger and impulsivity control to reduce the risk of future aggressive behaviours.
Highlights
During adolescence and young adulthood people appear to be more prone to violent behaviour
Younger age was associated with a personality disorder diagnosis, substance use disorder, being single and employed
This study highlights how young age in people with severe mental disorders is correlated with higher levels of impulsivity, anger and hostility, confirming previous analyses
Summary
Method A total of340 individuals with severe mental disorders (125 living in residential facilities and 215 out-patients) were evaluated at baseline with the SCID-I and II, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Specific Level of Functioning scale, Brown–Goodwin Lifetime History of Aggression scale, Buss–Durkee Hostility Inventory, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and State–Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2. This study included patients living in residential facilities and out-patients under the care of four Departments of Mental Health in northern Italy. Many details about both the study settings and the design can be found in previous publications.[25,26] Inclusion criteria were a Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Exclusion criteria included a diagnosis of organic mental disorder, intellectual disability, dementia or sensory deficits. The selection of these patients was based only on a comprehensive and detailed documentation (as reported in clinical records) of a history of severe violent behaviour(s).[26]
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