Prevalence of violence among psychiatric patients

Abstract

Violence is actual, attempted, or threatened harm to a person or objects. A behavior which would be fear-inducing to the average person may be counted as violence. Violence is a description of the act itself, not the damage to a victim. Violence has also been defined as the physical force exerted for the purpose of violating, damaging or abusing. Many factors were considered as risk factors for violence. One of the risk factors of violence is gender. Men have been found to commit more serious violent acts than that committed by females, also age as patients with age 40 and above with mental illnesses reported rates of violence approximately one third that of persons between the ages of 25 and 40. Moreover, low socioeconomic class and inequality in economic income and lower educational levels are serious risk factor for violence. Violence also has biological determinants as the serotonergic system which has been implicated in impulsivity and manifest violent behavior in aggression in humans. Studies also suggest that aggression is related to lower serotonin levels in the central nervous system. Also studies show that increased levels of norepinephrine correlate with impulsive aggression. Enhancement of central noradrenergic function facilitated aggressive behavior.