Abstract
Nicotine addiction among the mentally ill occurs at a high rate and aggressive behavior frequently occurs in forensic psychiatric facilities. Few studies focused on psychiatric forensic inpatients and their behavioral response to nicotine withdrawal. This study was an analysis of the association between nicotine and aggressive acts, reported in Special Incident Reports, before and after a smoking ban at a forensic hospital. The findings indicate a notable increase in aggressive acts in the week following implementation of a smoking ban with a parallel rise in use of seclusion and restraint. A significant decrease in self harm and a notable increase in aggressive acts to other patients occurred following the ban.
Further research is needed to examine the relationship between nicotine withdrawal and aggressive inpatient behavior. Violence in forensic psychiatric settings is an occupational hazard to nursing staff and a better understanding of violence will improve staff safety and clinical care.
Sigma Membership
Non-member
Type
Thesis
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Descriptive/Correlational
Research Approach
Pilot/Exploratory Study
Keywords:
Forensic Psychiatric Facilities, Aggressive Behavior, Nicotine Addiction, Staff Safety
Advisor
Ahlam Jadalla
Second Advisor
Barbara Nelms
Third Advisor
Colleen C. Love
Degree
Master's
Degree Grantor
California State University, Long Beach
Degree Year
2011
Recommended Citation
Cryns, Yvonne Lapp, "Smoking and violence: An exploratory study within a maximum security forensic institution" (2021). Theses. 32.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/theses/32
Rights Holder
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All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.
All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
None: Degree-based Submission
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2021-11-16
Full Text of Presentation
wf_yes
Description
This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 1493106; ProQuest document ID: 866328242. The author still retains copyright.