Vane-Tempest, Jane; (2000) An investigation into the ability of psychological measures to predict violent behaviour for men detained in hospital under a section of the Mental Health Act(1983). Doctoral thesis (D.Clin.Psy), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Recent public enquiries have highlighted examples of inadequate violence prediction and risk management by Mental Health Services in the UK. These inadequacies have had dire and sometimes fatal outcomes. A review of literature that spans two decades of research on the prediction of violent behaviour and risk management for mentally disordered people is presented. This study will explore whether a number of different measures drawn from the research literature can be incorporated into a routine clinical assessment within an inpatient setting to improve the accuracy of violence risk assessment. A sample of 40 male inpatients was drawn from a North London Medium Secure Unit. The HCR-20 was used to carry out a notes review. A sub-sample of 18 men agreed to complete self report measures which included the PCL-R, the NAS, the STAXI, the BIS-10 and the EIS. Violent behaviour was measured for the first month of admission for each man using the OAS. Scores for the HCR-20 significantly predicted inpatient violence during the first month of admission. Scores from self-report measures were examined for associations with inpatient violence. Associations found are discussed in the light of the small number of men consenting to self-report measures. Clinical implications of employing these measures as part of routine clinical practice are discussed in relation to levels of accuracy of violence risk assessment for psychiatric inpatients.

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