Background: Israeli citizens have been exposed to intense and ongoing terrorism since September 2000. We previously studied the mental health impact of terrorism on the Israeli population (Bleich et al., 2002), however the long-term impact of ongoing terrorism has not yet been examined. The present study evaluated the psychological sequelae of 44 months of terrorism in Israel, and sought to identify factors that may contribute to vulnerability and resilience.

Physical restraints are used as a psychiatric intervention to protect psychiatric inpatients from self-harm or harm to others, by securing a safe environment for the patients and staff. We examined nurses' attitudes, environmental concerns, and emotional responses to physical restraint of psychiatric inpatients, using a questionnaire we constructed expressly for this study. Nurses reported that the main criteria for restraint were endangerment of the patient's self or surroundings. Bothersome actions and environmental conditions also significantly impacted nurses' decisions to physically restrain patients. Emotional reactions to restraining procedures as experienced by staff and as perceived for patients were generally negative. Nurses should be trained to deal with violent patients, establish limits, and recognize the therapeutic aspect of restraints in order to respond assertively.

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