Abstract
This study tested the hypothesis that male Vietnam veterans seeking inpatient treatment for PTSD (n = 228) exhibit more violent behavior compared with a mixed diagnostic group of male psychiatric Inpatients without PTSD (n = 64) and a community sample of Vietnam veterans with PTSD not undergoing inpatient treatment (n = 273). Violent acts assessed included property destruction, threats without a weapon, physical fighting, and threats with a weapon. PTSD inpatients engaged in more types of violent behavior than both comparison conditions. Correlates of violence among PTSD inpatients included PTSD symptom severity and, to a lesser degree, measures of substance abuse. These findings justify routine assessment of violent behavior among inpatients with PTSD, as well as application of specialized interventions for anger dyscontrol and aggression.
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McFall, M., Fontana, A., Raskind, M. et al. Analysis of Violent Behavior in Vietnam Combat Veteran Psychiatric Inpatients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. J Trauma Stress 12, 501–517 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024771121189
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024771121189