Characteristics of psychiatric in-patients who engage in assualtive behaviour in Mathari Hospital, Nairobi
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Date
1991Author
Othieno-Nyaura, Edwin S P
Type
ThesisLanguage
enMetadata
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Literature on assaultive behaviour by psychiatric in patients was
reviewed. A total of 142 violent incidents perpetrated by 68
males and 74 female patients were studied over a period of 3
months. Of the total incidents of assault 98.54% resulted in
severity I injuries as per Fottrell (1980) rating scale.
The diagnosis of chronic schizophrenia featured in 50 (35.21%) of
the patients with an almost equal distribution among the males
and female. These patients were severely impaired on such
psychotic symptoms as delusions, hallucinations and inappropriate
affect. Depressives who turned assaultive were almost
exclusively females. Violence appeared to be a preoccupation of
the 18-24 years age group among the male patients studied, while
among the female patients the 35-44 years age group were over
represented. Assaultive behaviour in relation to length of
hospital confinement showed a bimodal distribution. Most
assaultive behaviour occurred during the first two weeks of
admission, followed by a relatively quiet two weeks and then
another spike during the fourth week after admission.
Citation
Masters of Medicine (Psychiatry)Publisher
University of Nairobi School of Medicine