RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Violence in Geriatric Patients with Dementia
JF Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
JO J Am Acad Psychiatry Law
FD American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
SP 183
OP 188
VO 17
IS 2
A1 Ellen Haller
A1 Renée L. Binder
A1 Dale E. McNiel
YR 1989
UL http://jaapl.org/content/17/2/183.abstract
AB Although the elderly have been studied as victims of violent behavior, there has been little investigation of this population as perpetrators of violence. Using the method of retrospective chart review, this study examines the issue of violence by geriatric patients with dementia who need acute psychiatric hospitalization. Of 52 patients, 44 percent engaged in physical attacks and/or fear-inducing behavior during the two weeks prior to admission, and 29 percent engaged in similar behavior within the first 72 hours of hospitalization. Married patients and those who lived with family were overrepresented in the group of violent patients. The authors discuss possible explanations and implications of these findings.