PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Ryan, Eileen P.
AU  - Aaron, Jeffrey
AU  - Burnette, Mandi L.
AU  - Warren, Janet
AU  - Burket, Roger
AU  - Aaron, Theresa
TI  - Emotional Responses of Staff to Assault in a Pediatric State Hospital
DP  - 2008 Sep 01
TA  - Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
PG  - 360--368
VI  - 36
IP  - 3
4099  - http://jaapl.org/content/36/3/360.short
4100  - http://jaapl.org/content/36/3/360.full
SO  - J Am Acad Psychiatry Law2008 Sep 01; 36
AB  - In this study, we examined the emotional responses of staff to patient-on-staff assault at a state inpatient psychiatric hospital for children and adolescents. Staff (n = 93) completed self-report measures assessing general psychiatric functioning and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Staff assaulted by patients in the past six months (n = 59) were compared with those who had not been assaulted (n = 34). Direct-care staff were more likely to be assaulted than were other staff. Assaulted staff were more likely to report prior nonsexual assault by a stranger, higher anxiety, more somatic concerns, greater vulnerability and lack of control, and higher levels of impairment at work and were more likely to consider terminating employment than were non-assaulted staff. Our cross-sectional data suggest several differences in assaulted versus non-assaulted staff. Further studies are needed to determine whether differences in anxiety and traumatic events precede assaults or represent antecedent risk factors for being assaulted.