Validation and recalibration of OxMIV in predicting violent behaviour in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Oxford Mental Illness and Violence (OxMIV) addresses the need in mental health services for a scalable, transparent and valid tool to predict violent behaviour in patients with severe mental illness. However, external validations are lacking. Therefore, we have used a Dutch sample of general psychiatric patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (N = 637) to evaluate the performance of OxMIV in predicting interpersonal violence over 3 years. The predictors and outcome were measured with standardized instruments and multiple sources of information. Patients were mostly male (n = 493, 77%) and, on average, 27 (SD = 7) years old. The outcome rate was 9% (n = 59). Discrimination, as measured by the area under the curve, was moderate at 0.67 (95% confidence interval 0.61–0.73). Calibration-in-the-large was adequate, with a ratio between predicted and observed events of 1.2 and a Brier score of 0.09. At the individual level, risks were systematically underestimated in the original model, which was remedied by recalibrating the intercept and slope of the model. Probability scores generated by the recalibrated model can be used as an adjunct to clinical decision-making in Dutch mental health services.

Contributing Factors in Violent Youth Behaviour: A Study in the Limpopo Province, South Africa

Background: Violent behaviour in youth is regarded as a significant public health problem associated with severe physical and psychological consequences. Despite the availability of rehabilitation programmes rendered at child and youth care centres (CYCC's) in the Limpopo Province, South Africa, there is an escalation and repetition of violent behaviours among the youth due to some underlying socio-economic factors. Objective: The study sought to explore and describe the factors contributing to violent behaviours among the youth. Methods: A qualitative, explorative, and descriptive research design was used. A non-probability, purposive sampling method was used to select participants in this study. The study population consisted of youth, from the age of 15-20 years old, who were admitted to the child and youth care centres due to violent behaviours. Focus group discussions and in-depth individual interviews were used to collect data from participants. A semi-structured interview guide and focus group discussion guide were used to collect data until data saturation which occurred after interviewing 48 participants. Data were analysed following Tesch’s open code data analysis technique. Measures to ensure trustworthiness and ethical principles were adhered to. Results: Two themes emerged from the analysed data, namely, the socio-economic factors contributing to violent behaviours among the youth in CYCCs and the effectiveness of rehabilitation programmes for violent youth behaviours in CYCCs. Eight sub-themes were derived from the two main themes. The home environment, the influence of delinquent peers, availability, and misuse of drugs and alcohol were most cited as the factors contributing to violent behaviours among the youth in CYCCs in the Limpopo Province. The study's findings revealed that youth had little knowledge of the impact that violent behaviour has on the victim, themselves, their families, and society. Conclusion: Rehabilitation programmes for violent behaviours among the youth will have better outcomes by involving the youth's family, especially the parents/guardians. Also, the child and youth care centres and youth violence policymakers need to emphasise family education as one of the most crucial violence prevention strategies in vulnerable youth.

Development and testing of methods for identifying police officers prone to illegitimate violence

All police officers go through the process of professional selection and must be recommended by psychologists for service. However, information about aggressive and violent behaviour and other illegal actions of police officers regularly appears in the media. For this purpose, we have developed a questionnaire for identifying aggressive and violent tendencies of police officers. As a basis for the proposed research methodology, the psycho-dynamically oriented personality questionnaire (POPQ) "Resource" was used, based on the self-structural test of Günter Ammon. Aggression within the framework of this methodological approach is understood from the point of view of the subject's active attitude to the surrounding world rather than from the point of view of causing harm or damage to living organisms. The author's methodology was created in several stages – selection of statements to which the polar groups of employees responded reliably (p < 0.05), assessment of the discriminative ability of these statements and their internal consistency, calculation of the main psychometric characteristics, testing of the scale on an independent sample of police officers. The results of evaluating the validity and reliability of the questionnaire scale are presented in the study. The diagnostic tools are aimed at identifying the latent propensity of a police officer to illegitimate violence.

Antisocial and criminal behaviour, school violence, and dating violence in adolescence

This article is aimed at analyzing three forms of violent behaviour, in addition to what it is that triggers what is known as “interactions among violent behaviours”; that is, what feeds back into violent behaviours, whether it is the victim and/or the aggressor simultaneously. The study sample consisted of 433 adolescents aged 12–19 years from four educational centers: two from ESO and two from FPB from a municipality of Greater Bilbao. The results show differences based on gender, showing a greater involvement among boys, as well as differences according to the educational pathway, with a higher prevalence of FPB students conducting antisocial behaviour than ESO students in school violence forms of behaviour and with no significant differences observed regarding dating violence. Finally, there was evidence to suggest the existence of interactions among violent behaviours.

Young age and the risk of violent behaviour in people with severe mental disorders: prospective, multicentre study

Background During adolescence and young adulthood people appear to be more prone to violent behaviour. A greater tendency to violent behaviour appears to be associated with hyperactivity, impulsivity and low tolerance for frustration and provocation in social settings. Aims This prospective cohort study aimed to evaluate rates of violent behaviour among young people with mental disorders, compared with older age groups. Method A total of 340 individuals with severe mental disorders (125 living in residential facilities and 215 out-patients) were evaluated at baseline with the SCID-I and II, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Specific Level of Functioning scale, Brown–Goodwin Lifetime History of Aggression scale, Buss–Durkee Hostility Inventory, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and State–Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2. Aggressive behaviour was rated every 15 days with the Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS). Results The sample comprised 28 individuals aged 18–29 years, 202 aged 30–49 and 110 aged 50 and over. Younger age was associated with a personality disorder diagnosis, substance use disorder, being single and employed. These results were confirmed even controlling for the gender effect. The patterns of the cumulative MOAS mean scores showed that younger (18–29 years old) individuals were significantly more aggressive than older (≥50) ones (P < 0.001). Conclusions This study highlights how young age in people with severe mental disorders is correlated with higher levels of impulsivity, anger and hostility, confirming previous analyses. Our results may assist clinicians in implementing early interventions to improve anger and impulsivity control to reduce the risk of future aggressive behaviours.

Linking Emotional Intelligence, Physical Activity and Aggression among Undergraduates

Several indicators are strongly related to health and well-being in university students, such as emotional intelligence and physical activity. At the same time, some qualities threaten it and are incompatible with students’ adaptation to society in general, such as aggressive behaviours. The aim of this research is to analyse the relationship established between emotional intelligence using TMMS-24, physical activity, using IPAQ, and aggression behaviours in university students. For this purpose, a descriptive, cross-sectional and non-experimental study was developed with 932 undergraduates (M = 20.55; SD = 3.673). The findings highlight how emotional intelligence and physical activity practice decrease violent behaviour in university students. In addition, men tend to have more aggressive behaviours than women as well as the relation between physical activity and emotional intelligence is stronger in all its dimensions. Results highlight the importance of including emotional intelligence programs in order to enable undergraduate well-being.

Parentification in Families Experiencing Violence

The polymotivational nature of violence makes it impossible to clearly determine its cause in a given family. Also, the multitude and extent of consequences for people involved in it are very high. Parentification can be observed in families experiencing violence, which is often not only a result of being subjected to acts of violence but can also be seen as a violent behaviour exhibited by adults towards children.

Representation of violence value in Joker Film

The Joker film aired in Indonesia on October 2, 2019. This film was widely discussed by the audience and succeeded in bringing the audience into the atmosphere of the film. This is because the problems that are taken often occur in the life of the general public. This film tells the story of Arthur aka Joker, whose life is filled with sadness, cheating, injustice as a lower middle-class citizen so that he is treated inappropriately by society and his family. Everything that happened to him resulted in the victim becoming the perpetrator of violence. Researchers are interested in analyzing the Joker film more deeply, and this is because the shows in the film contain violence that can trigger various physical and mental conditions such as aggressive behaviour, violent behaviour, bullying, fear, depression and nightmares for those who watch it. The purpose of this research is to find out how the representation of violence in the Joker film viewed from the Semiotics of Roland Barths to determine a meaning using the concepts of denotation, connotation, and myths taken from several scenes that represent the value of violence in the Joker film. The findings from the results of this study indicate that there are 16 scenes that present violence. The violence is in the form of physical violence, psychological violence, financial violence, functional violence, and rational violence. The Joker film shows that perpetrators of violence still often occur in life, even victims can become perpetrators of what happened to them. Often times people think this is normal because not everyone understands the importance of humanity and justice for others.

The “disease” of violence against health-care workers is a wicked problem. Managing and preventing violence in health-care

Purpose This paper aims to illustrate the complexity of understanding and managing violent behaviour in health care. The authors will show how different perceptions of the reasons for violent behaviour, and linkages between violent behaviour and illness have contributed to the creation of a wicked problem and added significant complexity to the management of violence towards staff within health-care settings. This paper will conclude with a call for strong multi-disciplinary action to address this ongoing issue. Design/methodology/approach A narrative review was undertaken to explore the ways that violence has been perceived in health care and the ways in which the concept of violence has moved from being seen as a criminal issue to being within the realms of disease. This paper will show the importance of understanding who is perpetrating violence in health care, why and in what settings. It will expound on the idea that considering violence as a consequence of disease necessarily adds a layer of complexity to both individual and organisational responses to violence towards health-care staff. Findings Understanding the complexity in preventing and managing violence against health-care staff can assist policymakers and managers to develop multi-faceted approaches to violence prevention, including better recognition and understanding of perpetrators of violence. Originality/value This paper provides a unique perspective on thinking about violence in health care and the implications of its complexity.