Risk Factors For Physical Violence Research Articles

Prevalence and risk factors of physical violence against husbands: evidence from India.

As the proportion of women being victims of spousal violence in India is higher than men, laws are usually framed to safeguard women. However, men who have experienced physical spousal violence are not unheard of. The study aims to provide the nationwide prevalence of physical violence against husbands and the risk factors for such violence, using large-scale nationally representative 'National Family Health Survey' (NFHS 4) data. The study used descriptive, bivariate, logistic, and multilevel regression models with a random intercept clustering within states and households to explain the physical violence against husband. Sample size for the analysis was 62,716 currently married women aged 15-49 years. Findings revealed that in most of the states of India, physical spousal violence has increased over time. Behavioural characteristics like marital control, alcoholism, and childhood experience of parental violence have a consistent and strong role in explaining the experience of physical violence across states. With age, experience of violence against husbands increases. Differences in socio-economic characteristics do not have unidirectional effect on violence experienced by husbands across regions of India. Working women who are earning cash and having access to mobile phones perpetrate more physical violence in selected regions. Education shows a gradient on such violence perpetration, indicating that only after achieving a certain level of education, chances of violence reduce. Regionally contrasting social and economic risk factors in explaining violence strengthen the argument that violence is space and culture-specific, and development alone may not resolve violence unless the system is addressing the behavioural aspects. There is a need for supporting men experiencing domestic violence within the existing system facilities. Revisiting the present domestic violence laws and programmes for inclusivity is the need of the hour.

Intimate partner violence during pregnancy in COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study from South-west of Iran

BackgroundIntimate partner violence (IPV) against pregnant women can cause several complications for the mother and her baby, which are life-threatening. Thus, we aimed to find the prevalence of IPV and its associated factors in pregnant women in Shiraz, Iran.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant mothers in Shiraz between July 2020 and January 2021. The questionnaire consisted of four parts: demographic data, socio-economic status (SES), obstetric and medical history, and questions about IPV. Univariate analysis was performed using Chi-square, McNemar, or Fisher’s exact test, and variables with p-value < 0.20 were included in Logistic regression. The odds ratio and CI 95% for variables with p-value < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.ResultsThe overall prevalence of IPV was 93.1% among 830 pregnant women in Shiraz. Psychological violence was the most prevalent type (92.9%), followed by sexual (11%) and physical (7.7%) violence. High SES (OR = 3.21, (CI:1.61–6.41)) was the only risk factor for overall violence, and the age group, 30–34, was a risk factor for physical violence. Mother-desired pregnancy (OR = 26 (Cl:0.09–0.79)) and father-desired pregnancy (OR = 0.91, (CI:0.22–3.80)) were protective factors against physical and sexual violence, respectively. Furthermore, Psychological violence and sexual violence increased during COVID-19 Pandemic (P.value < 0.05).ConclusionAccording to the obtained results, the prevalence of IPV during pregnancy in Shiraz was very concerning, especially psychological violence. Improving conflict-solving skills among family members and addressing economic problems could be considered by health policymakers when designing interventional programs and policies to reduce IPV during pregnancy.

Clinical Characteristics Associated with Physical Violence in the Elderly: A Retrospective Multicenter Analysis.

Background:Elder abuse is predicted to increase with the rapid population ageing in many countries. Violent injury is influenced by individual factors as well as interpersonal and social relationships, with different manifestations based on changes in the socioeconomic position of older adults. We comparatively investigated the clinical and injury characteristics of physical violence in the elderly with those in another age group.Methods:We included elderly patients (age ≥65 years) who visited six emergency departments (ED) with violence-induced injuries in 2017. The control group comprised patients aged 45–64 years, selected by 1:2 matching based on hospital and sex. Data were extracted from the National Emergency Department Information System and electronic medical records. Both groups were compared for injury mechanism, injury location, activity during injury, diagnosis, and clinical outcomes.Results:Among the 316,944 patients who presented to the 6 ED, 89,178 (28.1%) had traumatic injuries, and 1.6% and 4.5% of injuries were sustained due to violence in the ≥65 and 45–64 year age groups, respectively. There were no significant intergroup differences in the perpetrator (P=0.27), body parts affected (P=0.63), and diagnosis (P=0.23), whereas the older adult group had a significantly higher proportion of traumatic injury by fall (P=0.01), at road and traffic facilities (P=0.01), during work (P=0.01), and multiple injuries (P<0.01).Conclusion:The increase in non-regular workers in the elderly after retirement may have increased the risk of traumatic workplace injuries. As workplace injuries may be a new risk factor for physical violence in the elderly, institutional workplace injury prevention policy is needed.

Child Marriage and Physical Violence: Results from a Nationally Representative Study in Nepal

Child marriage is a significant public health concern especially in developing countries. This study examines the prevalence and factors influencing the physical violence among married women in Nepal. More specifically, this paper aims to investigate whether child marriage has an effect on married women’s experience of physical violence by their husbands. Data were drawn from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey, 2016, involving currently married women aged 15–49 years who had participated in the domestic violence module (n=3447). Weighted percentages were calculated to examine the age at marriage for experiencing physical violence from their husband. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to assess risk factors of physical violence due to child and early marriage. After controlling individual, household and community characteristics, this study found that lower age at marriage had increased odds of women experiencing physical violence by their husband. It is found that women who got married at less than 15 years, 15-17 years, 18-19 years were 2.3 times (adjusted OR=2.33), 1.68 times (adjusted OR=1.68) and 1.64 times (adjusted OR=1.64) respectively more likely to experience violence by their husbands than those who got married at the age of 20 years or later. Child and early marriage puts women at increased risk of physical and sexual violence. Government agencies need to strictly enforce existing law on the minimum age at marriage to reduce violence from their husband and increase quality of life of women and family.Journal of Health Promotion Vol.6 2008, p.49-59

Organizational Determinants of Workplace Violence Against Hospital Workers.

To identify organizational factors contributing to workplace violence in hospitals. A questionnaire survey was conducted in 2013 among employees in a Midwestern hospital system (n = 446 respondents). Questions concerned employees' experiences of violence at work in the previous year and perceptions of the organizational safety climate. Logistic regressions examined staff interaction and safety climate factors associated with verbal and physical violence, respectively. Interpersonal conflict was a risk factor for verbal violence (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.12, P < 0.05) and low work efficiency was a risk factor for physical violence (OR .98, 0.97 to 0.99). A poor violence prevention climate was a risk factor for verbal (OR 0.48, 0.36 to 0.65, P < .001) and physical (OR 0.60, 0.45 to 0.82, P < .05) violence. Interventions should aim at improving coworker relationships, work efficiency, and management promotion of the hospital violence prevention climate.

Physical violence against children with hearing loss by parents: A pilot study in Beijing, China

This study aims to examine the rate and risk factors for physical violence (PV) by parents against hearing loss children in Beijing, China. Cross-sectional study was carried out among 86 couples of parents of hearing loss children from two special education schools in Beijing. Parents’ self-reporting questionnaires were used to collect information about parental PV behaviors during the past 12 months, definition of child abuse, attitudes towards the use of corporal punishment to discipline children, parents’ childhood experience of PV victimization, and demographic characteristics. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were conducted. The rates of minor PV and severe PV reported by parents were 44.8% and 15.7%, respectively. Results from logistic regression analyses indicated that the risk factors of PV were: lower educational attainment, favorable or tolerant attitudes towards the use of corporal punishment to discipline children, parents’ experiences of PV victimization in childhood, and younger children. PV by parents against hearing loss children was common in Beijing. It is urgent to develop prevention programs to improve parents’ parenting skills and protect children with hearing loss from PV.

Physical Violence against General Practitioners and Nurses in Chinese Township Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to identify risk factors of physical violence in Chinese township hospitals.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was used in a sample of 442 general practitioners and 398 general nurses from 90 township hospitals located in Heilongjiang province, China (response rate = 84.8%).ResultsA total of 106 of the 840 (12.6%) respondents reported being physically attacked in their workplace in the previous 12 months. Most perpetrators were the patients’ relatives (62.3%), followed by the patient (22.6%); 73.6% of perpetrators were aged between 20 and 40 years. Of the physical violence incidents, about 56.6% (n = 60) resulted in a physical injury, and 45.4% of respondents took two or three days of sick leave. Reporting workplace violence in hospitals to superiors or authorities was low (9.4%). Most respondents (62.8%) did not receive training on how to avoid workplace violence. Logistic regression analyses indicated that general nurses, aged 35 years or younger, and with a higher-level professional title were more likely to experience physical violence. Healthcare workers with direct physical contact (washing, turning, lifting) with patients had a higher risk of physical violence compared to other health care workers. Procedures for reporting workplace violence were a protective factor for physical violence; when in place, reporting after psychological violence (verbal abuse, bullying/mobbing, harassment, and threats) was more protective than waiting until an instance of physical violence (beating, kicking, slapping, stabbing, etc.).ConclusionsPhysical violence in Chinese township hospitals is an occupational hazard of rural public health concern. Policies, procedures, and intervention strategies should be undertaken to manage this issue.

Workplace physical violence, verbal violence, and mobbing experienced by nurses at a university hospital.

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of and risk factors for physical violence, verbal violence, and mobbing experienced by nurses in a university hospital. This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Gazi University Medical Faculty Hospital. A questionnaire form recommended by the WHO and the International Labor Organization was administered through face-to-face interviews to determine the violence experienced in the past 12 months by nurses. The prevalence of physical violence, verbal violence, and mobbing was 13.9%, 41.8%, and 17.1%, respectively. Working more than 40 h per week increased the risk of physical violence by 1.86 times. The majority of nurses who experienced verbal violence and mobbing were significantly more willing to change their work, their institution, and their profession if given the opportunity. Fewer than one-fourth of the victims indicated they reported any incident. We knew that the prevalence of physical violence, verbal violence, and mobbing were high among nurses and that incidents were underreported, and the study corroborated this information. What this study adds to the topic is that long working hours increased the prevalence of physical violence and was defined as an important contributory factor.

Risk Factors for Physical Violence against Partners in the U.S.

To examine unique and relative predictive values of demographic, social learning, developmental, psychopathology, and dyadic variables as risk factors for perpetration of intimate partner physical aggression in a national sample of married or cohabitating individuals. Men (n=798) and women (n=770) were selected from the public use data file of the 2003 National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) which used a multi-stage cluster sampling design. Eight percent of women and 5% of men reported perpetrating physical aggression in the past year. Based on multivariable regression analyses, among men, the unique risk factors for perpetrating physical aggression were parental violence, dating before age 14, dating aggression, Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) before and after age 20, and being victimized by partner. Among women, significant risk factors were younger age, dating aggression, IED before age 20, cohabiting, victimization by partner, and marital/relationship strain. A number of social learning, developmental, adult psychopathology, and dyadic factors were significant. Two dyadic variables, victimization and marital strain, had by far the strongest associations with perpetration of partner aggression. Given that dating aggression and early IED were risk factors for male and female IPV much later in life suggests early interventions for those at risk.

Supplemental Material for Risk Factors for Physical Violence Against Partners in the U.S

Supplemental Material for Risk Factors for Physical Violence Against Partners in the U.S

Prevalence and correlates of physical, psychological, and sexual intimate partner violence in Bolivia

Despite increasing awareness that domestic violence is a major public health problem, existing studies focus on physical and sexual violence and give little attention to psychological violence. This study uses data from the 2008 Bolivia Demographic and Health Surveys (BDHS) to examine the prevalence and correlates of physical, sexual, and psychological intimate partner violence in Bolivia. The results show that psychological intimate partner violence is extremely common (affecting nearly one in two women) and often occurs in addition to physical violence. While physical, psychological and sexual intimate partner violence have several common predictors, there are factors that only affect some types of violence. Common risk factors include urban residence, respondent's employment status and having witnessed interparental violence in childhood. Although marital status is not a risk factor for physical violence, unmarried cohabitation is a strong risk factor for psychological intimate partner violence. Our findings highlight the need for research to assess the potential consequences of psychological intimate partner violence, particularly for women's mental health.

Violence toward nurses at emergency rooms (ERs) of hospitals of

AbstractBackground and AimER nurses are at risk of violence due to the nature of their job and confrontation with a variety ofpatients as well as heavy workload. This can, in turn, leads to decreased quality of care. Thisdescriptive study was conducted to identify prevalence and causes of violence toward nurses at ERsof hospitals affiliated with Medical Universities in Tehran.Methods100 nurses with at least 1 year continuous experience at ER were included in the study. Data werecollected by a questionnaire. The questionnaire contained items including demographics, frequencyand characteristics of violence at work (physical, verbal, nonverbal) and the factors involved.Content and test-retest as well as internal consistency (Cronbach’sU) methods were used forValidity and reliability of the questionnaire respectively. Data were analyzed by version 16 of SPSSpackage.FindingsThe most frequent type of violence was verbal (87%). The frequencies of nonverbal and physicalviolence were 70% and 28% respectively. The most common type of verbal violence was yelling(84%) and, in physical violence, it was throwing objects (33%). In nonverbal violence, insulting andthreatening look (64%) and hitting on the table were very common. Verbal (48.2%) and nonverbal(65.8%) violence was committed mostly over the past month of the study and at nights. The subjects(38%) experienced verbal violence up to 5 times. The most frequent cause of violence (77%) wasthe lack of control over entrance of patients’ relatives. chi test showed a significant relationshipbetween physical violence and night shifts (P 16 Feb 2010-Lanza ML et al (2006). Non physical violence: a risk factor for physical violence in health care settings. A A O H N:Official Journal The of American Association of Occupational Health Nurses .54 (9) 397-402-Lemelin L et al (2004). Workplace violence reported by Canadian nurses. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research. 41(3)152-167.-Pich J et al (2010) Patient-related violence against emergency department nurses. Nursing and Health Sciences 12(2),268–274 hs-525 2274.-Talas M S Kocaoz S Akguc S (2011). A Survey of violence against staff working in the emergency department inAnkara, Turkey. Asian Nursing Research. 5 (4)197-203.-Uzun O (2003). Perceptions and experiences of nurses in Turkey about verbal abuse in clinical settings. Journal ofNursing Scholarship. 35 (2) 81-85.-Yaghmaei F (2007). [Measuring behavior in research by valid and reliable instruments]. 1st edition Tehran: ShaheedBeheshti University of Medical Sciences and Health Services publication. (Persian).

Course and Predictors of Physical Aggressive Behaviour after Discharge from a Psychiatric Inpatient Unit: 1 Year Follow-up

The present study analyzes course and predictors of physically aggressive behaviour over a 1-year follow up in a sample of patients discharged from a psychiatric inpatient unit. One hundred and eighty-six patients discharged from a locked short-term Psychiatric Inpatient Unit at the Bologna University Hospital. After discharge, two data collection contacts at 1month and at 1year were scheduled. In particular, psychiatrists, nurses, and other professionals were interviewed by the research staff using the Overt Aggression Scale. About 20% of discharged patients showed physical aggressiveness in subsequent follow-up contacts. Risk factors for physical violence in the short-time period were social problems and a longer time from the first psychiatric contact. Living in residential facilities and physical aggressiveness during hospitalization were correlated to violence in the long-time period. Risk factors for physically violent behaviour differed in the short-term and long-term follow-ups; different causes of violent behaviour could be hypothesized.

Gender differences in emotional risk for self- and other-directed violence among externalizing adults.

Women and men generally differ in how frequently they engage in other- and self-directed physical violence and may show distinct emotional risk factors for engagement in these high-impact behaviors. To inform this area, we investigated gender differences in the relationship of emotional tendencies (i.e., anger, hostility, and anhedonic depression) that may represent risk for other-directed violence (i.e., physical fighting, attacking others unprovoked) and self-directed violence (i.e., self-injury, suicide attempts). The ethnically diverse sample consisted of 372 adults (252 men and 120 women age 18-55) with a history of criminal convictions. Facets of emotional risk assessed with the Aggression Questionnaire (Buss & Warren, 2000) and Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (Watson et al., 1995) were entered simultaneously as explanatory variables in regression analyses to investigate their unique contributions to other- and self-directed physical violence in men and women. Analyses revealed that anhedonic depressive tendencies negatively predicted other-directed violence and positively predicted self-directed violence in men and women, consistent with a model of depression in which aggression is turned inward (Henriksson et al., 1993). Gender differences, however, emerged for the differential contributions of anger and hostility to other- and self-directed violence. Trait anger (i.e., difficulty controlling one's temper) was associated with other-directed violence selectively in men, whereas trait hostility (i.e., suspiciousness and alienation) was associated with self- and other-directed violence among women. The divergent findings for trait anger and hostility underscore the need to examine gender-specific risk factors for physical violence to avoid excluding potentially useful clinical features of these mental health outcomes.

Violent Stalkers. Detecting Risk Factors by the Police

In the experience of stalking victims a common element is the fear of physical violence. Until now risk factors that predict physical violence within stalking contexts have been carried out in relatively small, clinical-forensic samples. Consequently, the validity and practical utility of these risk factors in the law enforcement context remains unknown. Furthermore some risk factors have been identified in this research on the basis of information that is not available for or difficult to detect by the police in an early stage of the law enforcement process. The identification of risk factors of physical violence in stalking incidents in an early stage by the police was the subject of the presented study. Risk factors are identified based on literature, content analysis of police records and by testing interaction terms. Therefore 204 judicial files were analyzed, resulting in a five factor model predicting physical violence. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Predictors of violent behavior among acute psychiatric patients: Clinical study

Violence risk prediction is a priority issue for clinicians working with mentally disordered offenders. The aim of the present study was to determine violence risk factors in acute psychiatric inpatients. The study was conducted in a locked, short-term psychiatric inpatient unit and involved 374 patients consecutively admitted in a 1-year period. Sociodemographic and clinical data were obtained through a review of the medical records and patient interviews. Psychiatric symptoms at admission were assessed using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Psychiatric diagnosis was formulated using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Past aggressive behavior was evaluated by interviewing patients, caregivers or other collateral informants. Aggressive behaviors in the ward were assessed using the Overt Aggression Scale. Patients who perpetrated verbal and against-object aggression or physical aggression in the month before admission were compared to non-aggressive patients, moreover, aggressive behavior during hospitalization and persistence of physical violence after admission were evaluated. Violent behavior in the month before admission was associated with male sex, substance abuse and positive symptoms. The most significant risk factor for physical violence was a past history of physically aggressive behavior. The persistent physical assaultiveness before and during hospitalization was related to higher BPRS total scores and to more severe thought disturbances. Higher levels of hostility-suspiciousness BPRS scores predicted a change for the worse in violent behavior, from verbal to physical. A comprehensive evaluation of the history of past aggressive behavior and psychopathological variables has important implications for the prediction of violence in psychiatric settings.

Non-Physical Violence

This research study assessed the extent to which non-physical violence is a risk factor for physical violence against workers in health care settings. More than 600 nursing staff, other clinical providers, and non-clinical staff in two health care settings completed a cross-sectional survey. For the preceding 12-month period, 72.8% of workers reported at least one incident of non-physical violence and 21.3% reported at least one incident of physical violence. Workers who had experienced non-physical violence were 7.17 times more likely to experience physical violence than those who had not. Both patients and employees were perpetrators of non-physical and physical violence. These results indicate efforts to prevent or reduce physical violence against health care workers need to focus on non-physical as well as physical violence and employee as well as patient perpetrators.