Inpatient ward social climate and sense of community can influence the recovery and care experiences of forensic mental health patients. This research aimed to evaluate an intervention designed to improve social climate and sense of community within a high secure psychiatric hospital in the UK. The intervention was offered across six wards and was tiered in the following way: two wards received the full intervention, two received the partial intervention, and two received no intervention (control). Social climate and sense of community were measured prior to the start of the intervention (baseline), six months into the intervention, and eighteen months into the intervention, using the Essen Climate Evaluation Schema and the Sense of Community Index-2. Changes in frequency of incidents of disruptive behaviour were also monitored across timepoints. A main effect of intervention type on ward social climate was found, with full and partial intervention groups self-reporting greater feelings of social climate than the control group. This effect was also observed across timepoints, with higher social climate scores in the full and partial intervention groups than the control group at six and eighteen months. Furthermore, social climate scores predicted a significant reduction in frequency of incidents across time in the full intervention. These findings provide longitudinal evidence of the importance of developing ward social climate and sense of community within forensic inpatient settings.
The present study describes the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) full scale IQ (FIQ) of admissions to one UK High Secure Psychiatric Care hospital. WAIS IV comparative data and the FIQ of admissions from the 1960s to the 2010s are presented (n= 639). Results suggest 75% of current admissions have FIQs within the 'low average' and 'extremely low' classifications, with significant discrepancies between composite scales being common and processing speed being the most compromised area of cognitive functioning. A one standard deviation decline in FIQs of admissions since the 1960s to the 2010s is also present. The results are discussed in terms of the changing clinical presentations of admissions, along with research and clinical implications.
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