Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Dangerous Behavior”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Violent fantasy, dangerousness, and the duty to warn and protect.

An evaluation of homicidal ideation is a routine component of a mental status examination and may be evaluated in more depth in forensic evaluations as a dangerousness risk assessment. The evaluation of dangerousness often includes asking about violent fantasies that may have physical or sexual content. The authors examine the circumstances in which the revelation of violent fantasies to a mental health professional may trigger a duty to warn or protect third parties. Legal cases in which violent fantasies were considered in the context of assessing potential dangerousness are reviewed. The research literature on homicidal and sexually violent fantasies in both non-incarcerated and offender populations is examined. No consistent predictive relationship between violent fantasies and criminally dangerous behavior is reported in the available scientific literature. The authors suggest factors that mental health professionals may consider when assessing whether a particular violent fantasy indicates that a patient's thoughts could give rise to a duty.

Confidentiality↗

The APA model law and three legal issues in mental health.

The needs of nondangerous mentally ill persons, the right of patients to refuse treatment, and professionals' duty to warn about the potential for dangerous behavior are important and controversial legal issues. The author considers the difficulties social workers have in implementing the principles and discusses the likely effects of the American Psychiatric Association's proposed model law on mental health services, particularly in the context of inadequate community care resources.

Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders↗

Factors predicting referral to inpatient or outpatient treatment from psychiatric emergency services.

Dispositional decisions in ten psychiatric emergency rooms in New York State were examined using logistic regression. Variables influencing recommendations for inpatient or outpatient psychiatric treatment were fairly consistent across the hospitals. All terms used in the regression model were interactions formed from five variables: dangerous behavior as a reason for referral, severity of the mental disorder, the hospital where the patient presented, current signs of psychosis, and a diagnosis of major mental illness. A sixth variable, assaultive behavior in the emergency room, also influenced disposition decisions but could not be considered in the model because all patients with that characteristic were referred for inpatient treatment. A model of disposition decisions based on interactions of variables may be especially powerful because it captures the dynamic combination of factors clinicians encounter.

Adult↗

The ability of adolescents to predict future outcome. Part I: Assessing predictive abilities.

Because adolescents are generally viewed as "risk-takers," an assessment of planning and decision-making skills during the teenage years may reveal why this developmental group tends to engage in dangerous behaviors. One area in which these abilities have significant consequences for future outcome is pregnancy, a condition that requires a decision to either give birth or abort. Previewing, a process by which caregivers introduce infants to the physical sensations of imminent developmental change and the implications of such change on their relationship, may affect the adolescent's ability to predict upcoming change. This paper explores previewing skills during the adolescent years and how this capacity affects the teenager's orientation toward future outcomes.

Adolescent↗

Normative ethics in sports medicine.

The relationship between a team physician and an athlete differs significantly from the traditional doctor-patient relationship. To better define the ethical norms and ideals in sports medicine, we surveyed the views of practicing team physicians in the Ivy, National Football, and National Hockey Leagues and compared them with responses offered by professional ethicists. Six hypothetical cases were presented, each representing a distinct area of ethical conflict: advertising, conflicting healthcare goals, confidentiality, innovative treatments, enabling dangerous behavior, and treating children. Thirty-one ethicists and 131 team physicians responded to the surveys. Subjects were asked to rate agreement or disagreement with statements that followed the case description. Responses were converted to scores ranging from 0 to 100. A priori, a difference greater than 20 points was set to represent significant disagreement. By that standard, there was agreement between the physicians and ethicists for 18 of 23 statements. We concluded that team physicians and ethicists share many of the same ethical views on common ethical issues in sports medicine. The high degree of variance in the responses in both groups, however, suggests that many unresolved areas remain in the field of ethics in sports medicine.

Advertising↗

Behaviors as risk factors for rehospitalization: implications for predicting and preventing admissions among the seriously mentally ill.

This case-control study investigated the extent to which aberrant behaviors, in contrast to more traditional clinical factors (such as symptoms and alcohol abuse), place individuals with schizophrenia at increased risk for rehospitalization. One hundred and one recidivists (cases) were matched to 101 non-recidivists (controls) on gender, race, and time since index hospitalization. Key informants, usually family members, were interviewed to assess behaviors during a 2-week period. After controlling for possible confounding variables, we found that each aberrant behavior increased the risk for rehospitalization, but highly disruptive or dangerous behaviors (such as threatening others, acting very bizarrely, or attempting suicide) conveyed a markedly high degree of risk (adjusted odds ratio = 83.9). It is possible that service providers may be able to avert the fiscal and emotional cost of hospitalization by collaborating more closely with family members to identify these behaviors and intervene before hospitalization becomes unavoidable.

Adult↗

[The analysis of schizophrenic inpatients' escape behavior].

To study the escaping behavior of 1030 schizophrenic in-patients, "Brief Rating Scale for Dangerous Behavior of In-patient" was used to asses them within their first week hospitalization from May 1994 to March 1996. The result showed that 276 (26.8%) patients had escaping behavior. The patients with paranoid schizophrenia had higher rate of escaping behavior. There was no correlation being found between sex, age, duration of illness, and escaping behavior. The patients with the history of such behavior were more likely to escape from ward (41.9%). The suggestion for preventing such behavior were discussed.

Adolescent↗

Homicidal behavior in schizophrenia associated with a genetic polymorphism determining low catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) activity.

Although aggressive, violent, and dangerous behavior in man has multifactorial causes, genetic factors are estimated by twin and adoption studies to substantially contribute to the development of such conduct. Recently, homozygosity of a low enzyme activity variant of the catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene was reported to be associated with aggressive behavior in a group of schizophrenic patients. We observe a similar tendency in a group of 30 schizophrenic patients who were confined to a maximum-security psychiatric facility for homicide. Significant excess (46.7% versus 21.0%) homozygosity of the low activity COMTmet/met genotype was observed in 30 mostly male (28 of 30) homicidal schizophrenic patients compared with 415 control subjects (Pearson chi(2) = 10.53, P = 0.005, df = 2). No difference in COMT genotype was found between 62 nonviolent schizophrenic patients and the 415 control subjects (chi(2) = 0.963, P > 0.1, df = 2). A trend for excess (46.7% versus 25.8%) homozygosity of the low activity COMTmet/met genotype was also observed when the homicidal schizophrenic subjects were compared directly with the nonviolent schizophrenic patients (chi(2) = 4.03, P = 0.1, df = 2). Similarly, an excess of the low activity COMTmet allele was observed in homicidal versus nonviolent schizophrenic patients (chi(2) = 2.92, P = 0.087, df = 2). Similar results were obtained if only male subjects were examined. No significant difference was found between control (257 Ashkenazi and 152 non-Ashkenazi Jews) COMT genotypes in the two principal ethnic groups examined (chi(2) = 3.79, P > 0.1, df = 2). Finally, no association was observed between homicidal behavior in schizophrenic patients and the dopamine D4 exon III repeat length polymorphism (D4DR) and the serotonin transporter promoter-region polymorphism (5-HTTLPR). Am. J. Med. Genet. (Neuropsychiatr. Genet.) 88:628-633, 1999.

Adult↗

Driving strategies among younger and older drivers when encountering children.

Results are presented of a study into how drivers say they behave and how they actually behave in traffic situations in which children are involved. An analysis was made of the most important types of encounters in which drivers become involved in accidents with children. On the basis of accident surveys and psychological theories on information processing, it was assessed by means of a questionnaire what knowledge drivers have concerning their own behavior in these situations, as well as their expectations about typical child behavior. Actual behavior of drivers in these situations was investigated by assessing video recordings of their behavior in driving a one hour standard track through residential areas. From the questionnaire it appeared that younger drivers reported more frequently dangerous behavior than older drivers. The recordings showed that younger drivers also behaved more dangerously during child encounters. This result could not be explained by differences in speed, but could by the fact that younger drivers detected the children less frequently than older drivers. Implications for the contents of mass media campaigns and their evaluation are discussed.

Accident Prevention↗

An evaluation of the effects of matched stimuli on behaviors maintained by automatic reinforcement.

The purpose of the current investigation was to extend the literature on matched stimuli to three dissimilar forms of aberrant behavior (dangerous climbing and jumping, saliva manipulation, and hand mouthing). The results of functional analyses suggested that each behavior was automatically reinforced. Preference assessments were used to identify two classes of stimuli: items that matched the hypothesized sensory consequences of aberrant behavior (matched stimuli) and items that produced sensory consequences that were not similar to those produced by the aberrant behavior (unmatched stimuli). The effects of providing continuous and noncontingent access to either the most highly preferred matched or the most highly preferred unmatched stimuli were assessed relative to a condition in which no stimuli were available. Overall results suggested that providing access to items that matched the hypothesized sensory consequences of aberrant behavior may be more effective than simply selecting stimuli either arbitrarily or based on the results of preference assessments alone.

Adolescent↗

Risk factors for injury in rural Iowa: round one of the Keokuk County Rural Health Study.

BACKGROUND: Unintentional injuries represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality in rural communities. This study aimed to determine the distribution of injury risk factors in a rural Iowa community and to identify the rural subgroups at highest risk for injury. METHODS: We reported on 1583 participants, aged > or =25 years, from Round One of the Keokuk County Rural Health Study, a longitudinal panel study of a rural community. The self-reported data were collected during face-to-face interviews. RESULTS: Our data suggested that several risk factors for injury are not uniformly distributed among rural populations. Male farmers were significantly less likely to wear their seatbelts than townspeople or rural nonfarmers. However, farm women were as likely to wear seatbelts as other women. Both male and female farmers were more likely to use all-terrain vehicles than townspeople or rural nonfarmers. In contrast, townspeople were more likely to ride bicycles than either farmers or rural nonfarmers. Townspeople were less likely to have firearms in their homes than either farmers or rural nonfarmers. Farmers were most likely to have fired a gun in the last year. Male farmers aged <65 years were less than half as likely as other men the same age to report a history of alcohol abuse. Binge drinking was equally frequent among farmers, rural nonfarmers, and townspeople. CONCLUSIONS: These differences in risk behavior in a rural county suggest the possibility of targeting specific rural injury prevention interventions at those with the highest risk for dangerous behavior.

Adult↗

Movement suppression time-out for undesirable behavior in psychotic and severely developmentally delayed children.

The effects of a movement suppression time-out, which involved punishing any movement or verbalization while a client is in the time-out area, were evaluated in four experiments. The first experiment examined the effects of a DRO procedure and movement suppression plus DRO in suppressing self-injurious behavior in a psychotic child in three different situations. In Experiment 2, the results of the previous experiment were replicated with two dangerous behaviors in a second psychotic child. In a third experiment, movement suppression plus DRO was compared with contingent restraint in reducing inappropriate poking behavior in two settings. The movement suppression procedure eliminated poking whereas contingent restraint had little effect. In the final experiment, movement suppression time-out alone was compared with exclusionary time-out alone and simple corner time-out alone. Self-stimulation occurred at high levels during the exclusionary and simple corner time-out procedures. Self-stimulation was either suppressed or reduced during movement suppression time-out. The movement suppression time-out procedure produced a larger reduction in the target behavior in all three children. The effectiveness of the movement suppression procedure was explained in terms of the suppression of self-stimulation while the time-out procedure was being applied.

Adolescent↗

Child and adolescent violence.

Although the juvenile violent crime rate has decreased steadily during the past 5 years, the problem of violence and violence-related behaviors in the lives of our children and adolescents remains. The incidence of violent victimization against children and violence and violence-related behavior by today's youth is related to a variety of factors. Exposure to violence in the home, school, community, or video games and other entertainment significantly influences aggressive behaviors among children and adolescents. Other childhood violence predictors include alcohol and drug use, gender, and low self-esteem. The childhood violence risk indicators have implications for child and adolescent violence prevention and intervention programs. Nurses who recognize dangerous and potentially dangerous behavior in children and adolescents are better able to provide violence prevention and intervention services and referrals to children at risk or in danger. Because orthopaedic nurses often see adolescents who have already sustained injury from violence, identification of those at risk is particularly important.

Adolescent↗

Antipsychotic dose-sparing effect with addition of memantine.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a case of an antipsychotic-sparing effect achieved after the addition of memantine to the regimen of a patient with severe Alzheimer's disease and aggressive behavioral disturbances. CASE SUMMARY: A 78-year-old white man with severe Alzheimer's disease was receiving risperidone 2 mg 3 times daily for persistent aggressive and dangerous behavioral disturbances. Memantine was initiated, and the dose was titrated to 10 mg twice daily. The patient's response included improvement in functional status and resolution of problematic behaviors, allowing repeated reduction of the risperidone dose and ultimate discontinuation. DISCUSSION: Antipsychotics are often employed to treat behavioral disturbances for patients with Alzheimer's disease; however, the adverse effect potential of these agents remains a significant concern. Adjunctive medications that maintain or improve behavioral symptoms yet allow an antipsychotic-sparing effect are attractive. Such experiences have previously been described with other drug classes, but clinical experience is evolving with memantine. For this patient, the effect of this agent on behavioral symptoms and risperidone requirements is one example of such an antipsychotic-sparing effect. CONCLUSIONS: Response to memantine therapy may include behavioral improvements allowing a dose-sparing effect of antipsychotic medication. Changes in psychoactive drug burden may be a valuable surrogate marker of memantine's effects on behavior.

Aged↗

Young drivers' decision making and safety belt use.

Past research in safety belt use has primarily focused on describing the relationship between drivers' demographic characteristics and safety belt use. This study compared the impact of situational factors (the direction of collision, the type of road, and the presence of an airbag system), demographic factors, and constructs (criteria) elicited from subjects regarding safety belt use. Based on the results obtained, a conceptual model was developed. The model indicated that drivers' decision-making process when judging the level of accident risk and usefulness of safety belts differs from those that determine actual behavior. Perceived risk was related to road type, perceived consequences of an accident, perceived usefulness of safety belts, self responsibility, the time available for the driver to warn the other driver, dangerous behavior, and gender. These variables showed that people were able to rationally judge the risk. Despite the fact that people judge behavior in what appeared to be a rational manner, risk perception was not a good predictor of belt use. Belt use was mainly influenced by individual factors such as gender, grade point average (GPA), and age. Other factors impacting safety belt use included the perceived frequency of an accident and the S.D. of perceived usefulness of safety belts.

Adolescent↗

Clinical experience with risperidone, haloperidol, and thioridazine for dementia-associated behavioral disturbances.

The efficacy and safety of risperidone, haloperidol, and thioridazine for treating dementia-associated behavioral disturbances were evaluated in a retrospective study of 186 patients aged 65 years or older with DSM-III-R or DSM-IV diagnoses of Alzheimer's dementia, senile dementia NOS, or organic brain syndrome. Study patients were selected from the charts of 12,000 residents of 60 long-term-care facilities in New Jersey if they were treated with one of the three agents for behaviors dangerous to themselves or others. The 186 selected patients included 60 treated with risperidone (mean, 1 mg/day), 83 with haloperidol (mean, 2 mg/day), and 43 with thioridazine (mean, 33 mg/day). Target behaviors were violence (74 patients), shouting (31), delusions (26), paranoia (19), pacing (3), and mixed behaviors (33). Target behaviors improved in 94% of patients given risperidone, 65% given haloperidol, and 67% given thioridazine (p < .001). Treatment failures (treatment discontinued in patients because of side effects or no improvement) were more frequent in patients started on haloperidol (28) or thioridazine (15) than on risperidone (3). Extrapyramidal symptoms were reported in 7% of patients taking risperidone, 22% taking haloperidol, and 18% taking thioridazine. Safe, effective doses are readily achieved with risperidone but difficult to achieve with haloperidol or thioridazine because their effective doses often cause unacceptable side effects. These data are only suggestive because no guidelines exist for defining or measuring behavioral disturbances or for how they are affected by social, psychological, or environmental factors.

Aged↗

Sedation in acute and chronic agitation.

Agitation is a nonspecific constellation of symptoms seen in a variety of psychiatric disorders, ranging from psychotic exacerbations in patients with schizophrenia to behavioral disturbances associated with organic factors. Its treatment must be individualized and based on the etiology of the psychomotor disturbance. Certain categories of drugs are broadly effective. Sedation and control of disruptive and dangerous behavior are the initial goals in stabilizing acutely agitated patients. Sedation is necessary during the lag period before antipsychotic and mood-stabilizing drugs take effect. Barbiturates and chlorpromazine, initially given to control agitated behavior, are largely supplanted by higher-potency antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, and, recently, a combination of these two agents. Agitation is generally controlled within hours to days, whereas remission of affective or psychotic symptoms often requires weeks to months. Once remission is obtained, sedation is no longer desired and may be a barrier to optimal patient function and compliance. Thus, for long-term treatment, strategies are used to minimize sedation, such as reducing dosages, changing administration to bedtime, or adding antidepressants or stimulants where appropriate.

Antipsychotic Agents↗

The outcomes of an inpatient treatment program for geriatric patients with dementia and dysfunctional behaviors.

This study evaluated outcomes of an inpatient program designed to reduce severe agitated behavior in geriatric patients with dementia who could not be successfully treated on an outpatient basis. An individualized treatment plan was created for each patient (N = 250) that involved pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions with behavioral, environmental, and psychological components. Assessment of behavioral, cognitive, and functional status was conducted for each patient on admission to the program and at discharge. Significant improvements on these assessments were observed. We conclude that the longitudinal, multidisciplinary approach used in this study was effective in significantly reducing intrusive and dangerous behaviors while preserving or enhancing patients' cognitive and functional abilities.

Aged↗