VIOLENCEANDAGGRESSIONINMENTAL.PDF

VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION IN MENTAL DEFINITIONS AND CLASSIFICATION OF HEALTH INPATIENT UNITS: AN EVALUATION AGGRESSION AND VIOLENCE OF AGGRESSION MINIMISATION PROGRAMS Comments throughout the literature stress the difficulty regarding definition and categorisation of aggressive incidents in mental health inpatient units. Various studies draw attention to the Stephen Spencer numerous definitions of violence and aggression making it hard Teresa Stone to compare results and draw conclusions about the degree of Margaret McMillan severity; for example, aggression is defined by Irwin (2006, p. 309- School of Nursing Midwifery, 310) as “verbal and physical assaults . . . behaviour that is intended The University of Newcastle to inflict, and can actually cause, physical or psychological injury” Anderson and Bushman (2002, p. 27) define aggression as any behaviour directed towards another individual that is carried Abstract out with the immediate intent to cause harm, and violence as aggression intended to cause major harm that is goal or outcome Violence and aggression in inpatient units constitute a major driven: it can be best described as an extreme form of aggression workplace hazard for mental health nurses, who must take in action (Anderson Bushman, 2002). The numerous definitions, account of many considerations when dealing with potentially with no clear consensus, illustrate the problem