A Study of Aggression Among Referrals to a Community‐based Psychiatry of Old Age Service

Abstract

These findings suggest that aggression is a significant problem for community-based elderly people and their carers, may increase the likelihood of admission into long-term care and that a reliable instrument to measure aggression would be useful in the clinical assessment of this population.

Physical aggression among patients with dementia, neuropathologically confirmed post‐mortem

“…Behavioral disturbances become increasingly common as the disease progresses . Neuropsychiatric symptoms, including aggression, are one of the main reasons for institutionalization of the demented individual . Previous research has shown that caregivers of demented individuals with behavioral disturbances have a higher risk of developing depression .…”

New Perspectives on Violence in Social Care

“…A number of studies have pointed to the heightened risk of aggressive behaviour associated with certain user characteristics, such as Alzheimer's disease or learning difficulties (Eastley and Wilcock, 1997;Gibbons et al, 1997;Hope, 1997;Kiely and Pankhurst, 1998). However, research into aggressive behaviour of children, people with learning difficulties and older people in residential homes has shown that certain aspects of the setting, such as the physical and social environment, may outweigh the importance of user characteristics (Russell and Harris, 1993;Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1998;Sinclair and Gibbs, 1998;Archibald, 1999;Allen, 2000;McCreadie, 2000).…”

Violence in older people with mental illness

“…Studies of psychogeriatric services have found aggression to be an important part of the presentation in 15-43% of community-based referrals, with physical aggression being present in 50-69% of these cases (Shah 1993;Gibbons 1997).…”

“…In a community study of aggressive patients, the majority of whom had dementia, 22% had a premorbid history of aggression (Gibbons 1997). Elderly people referred to forensic services tended to commit their first offence in middle age (Coid 2002).…”

“…Aggression can lead to increased carer burden and placement in care homes (Shah 1993), or psychiatric in-patient admission (Gibbons 1997). Even where violence is verbal, not physical, it causes distress to carers and is associated with deterioration in the relationship between the carer and the patient (Ware 1990).…”